


The Everlasting Universe of Things

by Seaspray13



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Daddy Issues, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Getting Together, Homesickness, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No beta we die like Jem'Hadar, Or at least I think its funny, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, getting married
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28768410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seaspray13/pseuds/Seaspray13
Summary: While en route to a medical conference, Julian and Garak find themselves stranded in a strange part of space. Who should come to their aid but the starship Voyager...Updates on Saturdays and Mondays.
Relationships: B'Elanna Torres & Elim Garak, Chakotay & Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway, Elim Garak & Keiko O'Brien, Elim Garak & Seven of Nine, Harry Kim & Julian Bashir, Harry Kim & Tom Paris, Julian Bashir & Elim Garak, Julian Bashir & Jadzia Dax, Julian Bashir & Miles O'Brien, Julian Bashir & Tom Paris, Julian Bashir/Elim Garak, The Doctor (Star Trek) & Julian Bashir, Tom Paris/B'Elanna Torres
Comments: 232
Kudos: 130





	1. The Crash

**Author's Note:**

> This story began as a small kernel of an idea and quickly grew into a ~31k fic I never expected. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it! 
> 
> Don’t ask me to try and explain exactly when this takes place, looking at Star Trek series timelines gives me a headache. My best estimation is season six of DS9, and sometime after season four of Voyager (aka, post-Seven of Nine joining the crew).
> 
> I listened to a bizarre combination of Neil Cicierega’s “Mouth” albums, David Bowie, Sabaton, and Hozier while writing this so if things are chaotic, that’s why.
> 
> Although the Voyager crew plays a central role, this is primarily a Garashir fic, so if you haven’t seen Voyager I think it would still be easy enough to follow along with.
> 
> There will be sexual content in later chapters but nothing particularly graphic and I will make sure to put a warning on those specific chapters.

> Art thou pale for weariness  
>  Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,  
>  Wandering companionless  
>  Among the stars that have a different birth  
>  -To the Moon, Percy Bysshe Shelley

Julian awoke with a groan. It was dark in the shuttlecraft, aside from a few sparking consoles.

He blinked, trying to gather his thoughts. They had been on their way to a medical conference when Garak had alerted him to the sudden appearance of an anomaly, dead ahead.

Julian felt a sudden jolt of panic. 

Garak.

The doctor looked over at the passenger seat, where the Cardassian was slumped over the controls. The doctor disentangled himself from his seat and moved to put a hand on Garak’s shoulder.

“Garak?” he said, gently shaking the other man.

He got an intelligible murmur in response. Julian breathed a sigh of relief; Garak was alive, at least.

After the initial shock, Julian’s medical training began to kick in. He fished around for his tricorder and began to scan his companion. 

The scan revealed a broken wrist, a few broken ribs, and plenty of bumps and bruises, but thankfully nothing life threatening.

Julian’s head ached; he probably had a concussion, at the very least.

They were lucky, judging by the state of the runabout, the landing had not been smooth. Again, Julian tried to remember what had happened.

Garak had insisted on coming to the medical conference with him because, according to the Cardassian, they would be in the same system as a very famous Andorian silk merchant whom he had business with. Julian knew this was probably only a half-truth at best, but he figured there was no harm in letting him come along.

They had been about two hours away from their destination when sensors began to go wild and Garak said something about a temporal anomaly. Julian didn’t remember anything after that.

He had no idea where they were or how long it had been since they’d crashed. He likely wouldn’t know, unless they were able to get some systems up and running.

Navigation and communications were top priority.

He was no Miles O’Brien, but he knew enough of the basics to hopefully make some repairs while they waited for help.

Garak stirred.“...Doctor?”

“I’m here.”

Garak sat up, taking note of their surroundings, “I take it we didn’t make it to Bre’el IV?”

“I’m afraid not, or at least... I don’t think we did. We crashed, but since navigation is offline I’m not entirely sure where.”

Julian thought he saw Garak nod, but in the darkness it was difficult to tell.

“I feel as though Lieutenant Commander Worf used me for sparring practice.”

“Your right wrist is broken and you have three fractured ribs, wait a moment while I find my medical kit.” It had gotten thrown somewhere in the crash.

Julian used the light of his tricorder to search around for the necessary supplies. He eventually found most of his medical kit wedged in a back corner, but it was in bad shape.

Julian’s heart sank. His osteogenic stimulator was completely mangled. 

“Bad news Garak, I don’t think I’ll be able to repair the breaks.”

“That’s quite alright, my dear, I’m sure I’ll manage.”

Julian heard Garak get up from his seat with a somewhat pained grunt and walk across the debris covered floor.

“We need to get navigation repaired so we can determine exactly where we are and if it’s wise to call for help.” The tailor said.

Julian was thinking about repairing communications first, but he supposed Garak did have a point. Best not to draw any more attention to themselves if the only other life forms nearby happened to be Jem’Hadar.

“We need to restore some power first, or nothing is going to work.”

Together, they spent the next several hours making repairs. Garak couldn’t do much, with only one hand, but he was able to talk Julian through some of the more delicate computer work.

Once the navigation system was operational, Julian returned to the cockpit to check on their location.

“Damn!” Julian exclaimed.

“What now?”

“The navigation system is on, but it’s completely shot. It’s saying we’re off the charts, nowhere near the Alpha Quadrant let alone Bre’el IV, which is impossible.” Julian said, throwing up his hands in frustration.

Garak said nothing for a moment before responding. “It appears we will have to try our luck with communications.”

Since they’d already restored power, it was an easier job fixing the comm system. Short range was damaged beyond repair, but they were able to get a distress call rotating on all frequencies. 

Julian sat on the floor, back against the bulkhead and Garak sitting across from him. “Now there’s nothing to do but wait.”

Garak raised an eyebrow ridge. It was a bit easier to see now that the sun, or suns, of this world had begun to rise. “Nothing, doctor? Surely there’s something we could do to pass the time?”

Julian rolled his eyes, but his mouth betrayed the hint of a smile. Leave it to Garak to lighten the mood, even in a crisis. “Oh? What did you have in mind?”

“Why don’t you tell me about which speakers you were most interested in hearing from at the conference?”

The conference, Julian had nearly forgotten. He was disappointed that he would miss out on hearing some of the greatest minds from across the federation, but he did appreciate Garak giving him an opening to ramble.

Julian got the sense that sometimes, people only listened to him go on about certain subjects out of politeness, but Garak always appeared genuinely interested. 

So Julian talked. He was about halfway through gushing over Dr. Crusher’s latest bit of research into the benefits of empath therapy when there was a loud pounding on the back door.

Julian froze. They had no working sensors so it would be impossible to tell who, or what, was outside. He looked at Garak and wordlessly, they pulled out their phasers.

Slowly, they moved towards the back of the ship. They positioned themselves on either side of the hatch and Julian pressed the button to open the door.  
Neither of them made a move to leave, but Julian’s curiosity made him risk a peak around the corner.

He nearly breathed a sigh of relief. He saw a Vulcan and several humans, all dressed in Starfleet uniforms.

“It’s alright,” Julian said to Garak as he put his phaser away and stepped into view of the landing party.

Garak followed but kept his weapon in hand, just in case.

“Thank God you’re here,” Julian said to the Vulcan, who seemed to be the one in charge. “Our shuttle crashed and there was no way we were going to get it up and running.”

“Who are you and how did you get here?” was the Vulcan’s reply. He and the rest of the landing party were still holding their phasers at the ready.

Julian blinked. “Oh, I’m Dr. Julian Bashir, chief medical officer aboard Deep Space Nine, and this is Mr. Garak, my... friend.” They were friends, good friends, Julian supposed, but it was strange saying it aloud. “We were headed to a medical conference on Bre’el IV when we ran into some sort of temporal anomaly and the next thing either of us remember is waking up in that crashed shuttle.”

As Julian was talking, a young, human Ensign had begun scanning them. “Sir, I’m reading one human and one Cardassian, nothing out of the ordinary,” he reported to the Vulcan.

Julian frowned. “What’s going on? Is there a reason you still have phasers pointed at us?”

The Ensign and the Vulcan exchanged a look, then the Vulcan nodded and the away party stowed their phasers. Garak did as well, but only after Julian shot him a glare.

“Away team to _Voyager_ , six to beam up,” the Vulcan said, hitting his comm badge.

A moment later Julian felt himself rematerialize in a ship’s transporter room. A woman in command red greeted them, hands on her hips.

“Welcome aboard gentlemen, I’m Captain Kathryn Janeway.”


	2. The Introduction

_Voyager._

Janeway.

Julian looked over at Garak, who seemed to be just as confused, neither of them stepped off of the transporter pad.

Julian blinked. _I must have hit my head harder that I thought._ “I must be hallucinating.” He said. “I thought I heard the Vulcan say this was Voyager before we beamed up and now you’re saying you’re Captain Janeway.”

The Captain folded her arms over her chest. “I can assure you Mr....”

“Dr. Bashir.” He offered. “And this is Mr. Garak.”

“Dr. Bashir.” She said with a reassuring smile. “This is no hallucination.”

Garak was finally spurred to action. He stepped off the platform and walked up to the woman. “Captain.” He began. “What my young friend is trying to say is our last know location was in the Alpha Quadrant, near the Bre’el system. It is quite common knowledge that the _USS Voyager_ has been stranded in the Delta Quadrant for the past several years, so how is it that we find ourselves aboard your ship?”

The Captain raised an eyebrow, apparently unfazed by the Cardassian invading her personal space. “We asked ourselves a similar question when we picked up a Federation distress call.”

“It appears we have much to discuss.” Garak said.

“That we do.” Janeway agreed. “I’d like you and the doctor to meet me in the briefing room.”

“Of course.” Garak said with a slight dip of his head.

Janeway gave him a nod and then walked out of the room. It did not escape Garak’s notice that two Starfleet security personnel remained behind.

Garak turned to look back at the doctor, who remained frozen in place. “Are you all right, my dear?”

Julian felt like his head was spinning. “Are we really in the Delta Quadrant?”

“I imagine the Captain will be able to answer that question for you shortly.”

“None of this makes any sense.”

“The universe rarely does.”

“How can you be so calm about this?”

“Believe me, I’m not.” Garak said, walking up to place a hand on Julian’s arm. “I just have more practice hiding it.”

“A skill you picked up while hemming pants, I’m sure.”

“Naturally.”

Julian sighed and stepped off the platform, following Garak out into the corridor, where the member of an alien species Julian had never seen before was waiting to meet them.

“Welcome aboard _Voyager_.” The alien said. “I’m Neelix, ship’s ambassador and morale officer. The Captain asked me to bring you to the briefing room.” He seemed quite pleased to be given this task. “If you’ll follow me.”

Julian gave Garak the briefest of glances before they set off down the corridor.

\---

Garak did not trust this ship, its Captain, or this strange alien who was in the process of giving Julian a whirlwind tour of the ship.

He talked more than Quark, if that were even possible.

Garak remained silent, mentally marking down any and all possible escape routes in case they would need them later. It was important they be able to retrace their steps. He also kept note of any access points for key systems. If they were prisoners here, then sabotage might be the best way to distract their captors.

The alien led them into a turbolift and requested they be taken to the bridge. As the lift brought them to their destination, Garak took a moment to look at Julian. He looked rather banged up but it didn’t seem like he had anything seriously wrong with him. Garak had to make a conscious effort not to wince with every breath he took. Hopefully these people, whether or not they were actually Starfleet, would at least give them access to some medical equipment.

Cardassian bodies were built to withstand the extremes, other than cold, that is. Garak could handle much more than a few broken bones, but it didn’t mean he particularly enjoyed it.

Once they entered the briefing room, and were seated, Garak was given the opportunity to observe the senior staff.

There was the Captain, and next to her a man with a tattoo on the left side of his face. _First officer,_ Garak guessed, but his rank pin was unusual so he couldn’t be certain. Although, the way he was looking at the Captain made Garak wonder if there was more to their relationship than was typical between captains and their second-in-commands... 

The Vulcan and the Ensign from the away party were also present, as well as two more human men, one in command red and the other in medical blue, and a woman in operations yellow who appeared to be at least part Klingon.

The woman was staring and Garak with an angry look in her eyes.

Garak just smiled and stared back, which seemed to make her squirm, much to the Cardassian’s private satisfaction. 

The Captain got straight down to business. “Mr. Tuvok,” she said, gesturing at the Vulcan, “has explained to me that you found yourself here thanks to a temporal anomaly. I have a crew working to recover your craft’s sensor logs to see if this is true.” She paused for a moment. “You’ll have to forgive our skepticism, but we don’t typically run into other federation ships this far out.”

“I can’t say I blame you.” Julian said. “I’m having a bit of trouble coming to terms with the fact that we’re in the Delta Quadrant.”

“You’re probably feeling similar to how we all did when the caretaker first pulled us into this part of space.” Janeway agreed. “Tuvok said you were a doctor.” She addressed Julian and then looked to Garak. “But what about you? Cardassia didn’t exactly have a friendly relationship with the Federation last we heard, so where do you fit into all this, Mr. Garak?”

Garak felt all the eyes in the room land on him. He had a feeling this sort of question was coming, “I’m a tailor. I run a shop on Deep Space Nine.” 

“If you’re a tailor than why were you planning to attend a medical conference?”

The Captain was perceptive, Garak granted. “Dr. Bashir was attending the conference, I merely came along for the ride, so to speak, in order to take care of some business negotiations.”

“He was going to meet an Andorain silk supplier.” Julian offered. “And I... appreciated the company.”

The Klingon women looked at Julian like she couldn’t believe a Cardassian could ever be acceptable company. Garak bristled slightly.

This seemed to be a good enough explanation for the Captain. “Very well. Mr. Neelix will show you to your quarters. In the interest of caution, I’m going to have some security officers stationed outside, at least until your shuttle’s data can verify your story.”

“I understand.” Julian said.

“We’d prefer shared quarters, if you don’t mind, Captain.” Garak said and he could feel Julian’s look of surprise.

Janeway raised an eyebrow. “That should be no trouble to arrange.”

“I’d also like to use your medical facilities, if possible.” Julian added after regaining his composure. “Mr. Garak has a few injuries I’d like to attend to.”

“Of course.” Janeway agreed.

The man in blue spoke up. “I’ll transfer my program back to sickbay and Mr. Neelix can show you the way there.” He said to Julian. The man then stood up, and disappeared.

Garak tilted his head to the side, curious...

“An EMH.” Julian explained. “In an emergency, they can provided medical care when the real doctor is indisposed.” He turned back to the Captain. “Where’s your CMO?”

“Long dead.” She replied. “Luckily our holographic friend has been able to meet our needs.”

“I thought the EMH weren’t intended for long-term use?”

“They aren’t.” the Klingon woman said. “We were able to make some modifications, expand his program.” She had made some of those modifications, Garak guessed.

“Remarkable.” Julian said.

“We best be getting to sickbay.” Garak said. “It won’t do to keep the Doctor waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I neglected to mention last chapter that Bre’el IV is the planet that appears in the Next Generation episode “Déjà Q,” which holds a special place in my heart as it is the first episode of Star Trek I ever watched. 
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	3. The Debate

“You should’ve come here the moment you arrived onboard!” The holographic Doctor protested.

They were in sickbay and Julian was concentrating on knitting Garak’s bones back together.

“The Captain would’ve never been so cruel as to make you sit in the briefing room with three broken ribs and a broken wrist. You should’ve told someone about your injuries. Even if you were prisoners, Starfleet protocol states—“

“What makes you so sure we aren’t prisoners?” Garak cut in.

The hologram looked taken aback. “As far as I know you’re free to move about the ship.”

“Only with an escort.” Garak said with a pointed look at the security officer stationed near the door. Not that ship security would likely cause much of a hindrance for Garak, especially once his injuries healed. Starfleet security, in his experience, generally lacked a certain amount of subtlety.

“You can’t blame the Captain for taking precautions, the crew has had their hopes of true in-person Federation contact dashed on more than one occasion.” The EMH replied and then seemed to decide that Julian was his next target. “Back to the matter at hand, what kind of doctor lets their patient’s injuries go untreated?”

Julian immediately stopped what he was doing. “Excuse me?”

“You should’ve treated Mr. Garak’s injuries as soon as you became aware of them.”

“I would have, if the equipment I needed hadn’t been destroyed in the crash.”

“Well then you should’ve reported the injuries when you came on board, it was neglectful!”

Julian spun around to face the doctor. “Look, when we first beamed up here we were both in shock and neither of us had any way of knowing if anyone on board was trustworthy. Mr. Garak has been my patient for many years and I can say, with some amount of certainty that he would not have appreciated me revealing his weakness to a potential threat. I did not ‘neglect’ him, his injuries were not life threatening, so I would appreciate it, if you would stop telling me how to do my job!” It was rare to see Julian get this heated over anything and Garak was enjoying the show.

The EMH scoffed. He was clearly used to having his way in the infirmary and did not like having his domain infringed upon. Garak was already thinking of all the ways he could disable the Doctor’s program, with varying degrees of permanence.

“Very well.” The hologram conceded after a beat. “If you need me I’ll be in my office.” He walked off and a few moments later they heard the muffled sound of operatic music.

“What an abrasive program.” Julian remarked as he resumed his task. “Sorry about that.” He paused. “You don’t think I was neglecting you, do you?”

“Not at all, my dear.” Garak assured him. “We were in an uncertain situation.”

“He was right, I probably should’ve asked for medical attention right away.”

“Nonsense, as you said, my injuries were not life threatening.”

“Still, that doesn’t mean I should’ve let you sit there in pain.”

“Julian.” Garak said softly. “I’m fine, none of this is your fault.”

“I should’ve said no when you asked to come along, there’s a damn war going on! I shouldn’t have even tried to go to the conference, I don’t know what I was thinking—“

“Julian!” Garak said, more forcefully this time. “You could not have known.”

“I should have.”

“You’re an augment, not a psychic.”

Julian sighed. “You’re right, of course. I just keep thinking about Deep Space Nine. At the current heading, it will be decades before _Voyager_ returns to the Alpha Quadrant unless they find some sort of wormhole or an anomaly like the one that caught us, and they’ve already been searching for years. There’s a good chance we’ll never see home again.”

Garak didn’t have the heart to tell him that he had already given up setting foot on Cardassian soil long ago. “I think that right now, the best course of action for both of us would be to eat something and get some rest.”

Julian nodded. “Give me just a moment to fix that last rib.”

\--- 

_Voyager’s_ mess hall left much to be desired. Julian supposed he had been spoiled on Deep Space Nine. Most starships didn’t exactly have establishments such as Quark’s, or the Replimat, or the bowling alley.

From what he could see of the kitchen, it was full of steaming pots and pans, and various vegetables of unknown origin. Neelix was jumping between pots, stirring the contents. It seemed that his duties aboard _Voyager_ also included chef.

“Dr. Bashir, Mr. Garak, it’s good to see you again!” Neelix said when the pair walked up to the counter.

“Hello again Neelix.” Julian said. “What are you making?”

“Laurelian pudding”

Julian frowned, “I’ve never heard of that.”

“It’s a Delta Quadrant specialty. Here.” Neelix said scooping a generous portion onto a plate for each of them. “I have to warn you, it’s a bit on the spicy side.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.” Julian said, taking the plates. “Let’s go find somewhere to sit.” he said to Garak.

The room was packed, but there were a few empty seats next to the Ensign that had scanned them before they had come aboard.

Julian walked over. “Mind if we join you?”

“Be my guest.” He said. “I’m Harry, Harry Kim. I don’t think we were introduced earlier.”

“We weren’t.” Julian said as he and Garak sat down. “It’s nice to meet you Harry.”

“Be careful with that.” Harry said, pointing to Neelix’s creation. “It’s got a kick to it.”

“So we’ve been told.” Garak said.

“Why go through all this trouble to cook something?” Julian asked. “Is there something wrong with the replicators?”

“They work all right, we just try not to use them more that we have to. Being stranded out here, we can’t afford to be reckless with our essential power reserves so we all have limited replicator rations.”

“That makes sense.” Julian said as he poked at his plate. He was working up the courage to take a bite.

“Thankfully the holodecks run on their own independent power source so we can still use them without effecting vital systems, or we would’ve all died from boredom by now.”

“You have holodecks?” Julian asked. Stupid question, of course they had holodecks, why wouldn’t they have holodecks? All Starfleet vessels of this size had them.

“State of the art.” Harry said proudly.

“Mr. Kim.” Garak began. “Are you familiar with a character known as James Bond?”

Harry shook his head. “Should I be?”

“He is of Earth origin, I believe.” Garak said

“You’ll have to ask Tom about that, he’s really into old Earth stuff, black and white movies, gasoline powered cars, things like that.” Harry explained.

“You’ll have to introduce us,” Julian said.

“He was in the briefing room, sitting next to the doc.” Harry paused. “Tom and I were planning on running a program tomorrow at 1800 hours, if you want to join us.”

“What kind of program?” Julian asked.

“A holonovel that Tom made himself. I’m sure we could find some roles for the two of you.” Harry offered. 

“You’ll only need to come up with one role, I won’t be joining you.” Garak said. “I have little use for holoprograms.”

“Oh, come on Garak, what else are you going to do?”

“Anything.” Garak replied. “I find most holoprograms to be uninteresting.” 

“That’s not what you said when you broke into my Bond program.” Julian protested

“That was a one time occurrence.” Garak said with a wave of his hand. “You kept missing our lunches and I was trying to figure out what was so much more interesting than discussing _The Never-Ending Sacrifice._ ”

Julian groaned. “Garak that book was dull! You can’t possibly believe that would be more interesting than playing spy!”

“ _The Never-Ending Sacrifice_ is a cornerstone of Cardassian literature. I should be insulted that you found it dull!”

“What’s insulting is forcing me to slog through pages and pages of family trees! If I had to read one more line about how gul so-in-so gave his life in glorious service to the state, I was going to cry out of boredom!”

Harry was beginning to look lost and a few others in the mess hall had turned to stare at the pair of newcomers.

“Sometimes, I think you purposely pick books you know I’ll hate.” Julian continued, taking a stab at his dinner.

“And why would I ever do that?” Garak said with feigned ignorance.

“To get a rise out of me.” Julian said and coughed. Oh God, this dish was spicy.

“Well I seem to have succeeded, if that were my goal, which it most certainly isn’t.”

“Liar.” Julian said, taking another bite. His throat was already burning; it was too late to back out now.

“I’d better get going,” Harry said awkwardly. “See you tomorrow, Dr. Bashir.” He left without waiting for a response.

“My dear.” Garak continued as if nothing had changed. “What purpose would I have in lying to you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Deep Space Nine canonically had a bowling alley on the promenade.
> 
> Voyager did a very bad job of explaining why they had to ration replicator uses but had nearly limitless holodeck time so if Harry’s explanation sounds like bullshit it’s because it is.
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	4. The Bed

Julian and Garak stood in the middle of their assigned quarters.

“Why exactly did you request joint quarters? We could’ve just asked for rooms next door to each other.” Julian said.

“It’s much easier to make sure one living space is secure than two.” Garak said as he began to move about the quarters, checking in corners and running his hand underneath furniture.

“You did this for security reasons, are you serious?”

“If someone tries to kill you while you sleep it will be easier for me to stop them if I’m already in the same room.” The Cardassian said, continuing his thorough sweep of the room.

“You’re being paranoid, who’s going to try and kill me?”

Garak shrugged. “The Captain, the holographic Doctor, that lovely young Ensign we had dinner with. You might trust our hosts, but I do not.”

“You’re impossible.” Julian said with a shake of his head.

“So I’ve been told.” Garak replied. “There are no listening devices, in case you were wondering what I was searching for.”

“Perfect, now no one will hear me when I finally strangle you for being a pain in the ass.”

“That will certainly be the day.”

Julian glanced around. Everything was so bare. He had none of his clothes, no PADDs, _and no Kukulaka_ he thought with a pang. He pushed that thought aside and began to survey the space. It was a good deal larger than his room on the station, but then again, these were joint quarters. There was also a distinct lack of harsh edges, which were a staple of Deep Space Nine’s original Cardassian architecture, a feature Julian never thought he would miss until now.

Garak watched him. “Do these quarters meet with your expectations?”

“They’ll do for now.” Julian said as he peaked into the bedroom. He wasn’t yet ready to accept being on board _Voyager_ for any permanent length of time. He expected any moment to wake up from whatever nightmare his subconscious had created.

The bed looked a good deal more comfortable than the ones on the station, so that was a point in the ship’s favor, at least. Julian stopped as the realization hit him. 

The bed.

Just one.

He wasn’t sure why he thought there was going to be two.

“I’ll sleep on the couch, until we can see about getting another bed moved in here.” Julian said.

“Nonsense.” Garak said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You humans are much more sensitive to that sort of discomfort, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Garak, I just pieced three of your ribs back together. Your body needs to rest.”

“I can get adequate rest on the couch.”

“No you can’t, just last week you were complaining about how stiff your back is in the mornings.”

“I may have exaggerated, for effect.” Garak admitted. “The Constable was standing next to us and I always try to give him the impression I’m old and weak so he doesn’t look at me too closely.”

Julian shot him a look. “Regardless, your body needs to heal, properly.”

“Then it seems we are at an impasse.”

“If it’s that important to you, we could share the bed.”

Garak blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“It’s probably big enough that neither one of us will notice the other one is there.”

“This is hardly the most reasonable solution—“

“If someone tries to kill me while I sleep it will be easier for you to stop them if you’re already in the same bed.” Julian cut in.

Garak said nothing for a moment and Julian knew he had won.

“Very well.” Garak said. “We will... share.”

“Good, I’m tired so I’m going to go get ready to go to sleep. I suggest you do the same.”

\---  
And that is how Garak found himself lying inches a way from a sleeping Julian Bashir.

The bed was certainly NOT big enough to ignore the other man’s presence, something Garak could see almost immediately. He had no idea why he had agreed to this. _Oh yes you do,_ a small voice told him and he ignored it.

Julian truly had been tired, since he fell asleep almost instantly, but Garak had no such luck. He discovered that humans move a great deal in their sleep, and Julian was so close to him now that he either had to surrender to the human’s touch, or be pushed onto the floor.

Garak supposed he could retire to the couch and at least get some amount of sleep, but he had a feeling that Julian would be very disappointed when he woke to find him gone.

Garak was being foolish. He shouldn’t care about disappointing a human, except this human was Julian, and try as he might, Garak had never been able to shake the feelings he had for him.

_Perhaps I truly am just old and weak._ Garak thought. A true Cardassian would never give into such sentiment.

But then again, a true Cardassian would never have been exiled in the first place.

Garak felt something touch his back and he stiffened. Julian was moving again and this time he took the opportunity to snuggle up close to his bedmate.

Garak could feel his heart hammering. It was so loud he feared Julian would hear it and wake up, but the young doctor didn’t seen to notice.

Ever so slowly, Garak began to relax. It was fine, he told himself. After all, there were much worse things than having to share a bed with a beautiful, warm-blooded man.

It had never occurred to Garak how much body heat humans gave off.

They would certainly need to put in a request for a second bed in the morning, but for now Garak supposed it couldn’t hurt to make use of the personal heater he suddenly found himself in possession of.

Sleep, it seemed, would not evade him after all.

\--- 

Julian woke up to find himself in someone else’s arms.

It had been a rather long time since that had happened. He could sense that it was early in the morning so he adjusted his position slightly, content to stay in the embrace of—

His eyes snapped open as the realization hit him.

Garak.

Julian turned his head ever so slightly, careful not to wake the slumbering Cardassian. 

Julian had never seen Garak look so at peace. Typically all he saw was the mask that Garak wore. The tailor’s usual sardonic, confident, and mysterious persona was gone and now he looked so much smaller, so much more real and honest.

Seeing Garak like this was certainly something Julian could get used to. His heart skipped a beat. He was being ridiculous.

But maybe he could convince Garak that they wouldn’t need a second bed after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist taking a crack at this trope.
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	5. The Promotion

“Absolutely not.” Garak said firmly. He and Julian were in the living room, hashing out the anticipated bed debate.

“Are you really so against being comfortable?” Julian asked. 

“It had nothing to do with comfort, it’s improper—“

“Improper! You’re beginning to sound like my mother. It’s perfectly fine for friends to share a bed.”

_Except I’ve never thought of you as just a friend..._ “I never met her when she visited the station, but based on your comparison she must be a sensible individual.”

Julian rolled his eyes. “Don’t change the subject.”

“I didn’t.”

“Anyway.” Julian said, siting down on the couch with a wave of his hand. “What are you going to say to the Captain when you make your request? You made it a point to get us joint quarters and now you’re going to turn around and suggest separate beds. If I were the Captain I would find it odd, if not downright suspicious.”

“However we choose to arrange our quarters should be none if the Captain’s business.” Garak said. “And if she refuses my request I will simply sleep on the couch. My injuries are completely healed by now.”

“Was sharing the bed with me truly that awful?”

_No, it was very nice,_ Garak thought, but he had to keep up appearances. “Yes, you thrash about like a wild bekkir in your sleep.”

“Fine.“ Julian relented. “But you’re on your own when you go talk to the Captain about this.”

\--- 

Julian was in the Captain’s office, trying not to think about his earlier argument with Garak. All their years of friendship and Garak couldn’t even trust him enough to sleep in the same bed. Julian would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt. Whenever he felt like he was finally beginning to understand the Cardassian, Garak did or said something to make him question everything.

“You and Mr. Garak will be happy to know that we have cross examined your story with data from your crashed shuttle, so there’s no longer any need for you to be escorted around by security.”

“That’s good to hear.” Julian said. “Was that all that you needed to see me about or is there something else?”

“We have been without a full team of medical staff since we first arrived in this part of the galaxy.” Janeway began to explain. “Mr. Paris has some medical training, but it’s hard for me to tear him away from the helm to play nurse.” She said with a smile. Janeway got up from her desk and walked over to the replicator. “How do you take your coffee?” She asked.

“I prefer tea.” Julian replied. “Tarkalean, if your replicator is programed for it.”

Janeway let out a rather disappointed sounding hum. “Coffee, black, and cup of Tarkalean tea.” she requested.

Julian accepted his replicated drink with a “thanks” as the Captain handed it to him and sat back down in her chair. 

“The Doctor has been excellent, but there’s no sense in letting a doctor with your training and experience go to waste.” She took a sip of her coffee. “How would you feel about being promoted to Chief Medical Officer of the _U.S.S. Voyager_?”

\--- 

“Congratulations, doctor! On board for less than two days and you’ve already managed to impress the Captain enough to earn a promotion.” Garak said.

Julian had returned to their quarters after meeting with the Captain and was lounging in one of the chairs while Garak sat on the couch. “I told her I would think about it.”

Garak was taken aback. “Think about it? My dear, what is there to think about? It’s the obvious course of action, the Captain knows that, and I believe you do as well.”

“I don’t know Garak.” Julian said, running his hands through his hair. “It just feels too soon, too permanent. I know it’s stupid to think we’ll be able to get back home when this crew has been trying for years without much success, but I don’t know if I’m ready to give up.”

“You’re not giving up.” Garak reminded him. “You’re merely making the most of your current situation.”

Julian smiled. “And here I was thinking you were going to lecture me on being too idealistic.”

“A good friend has shown me the benefits of indulging in idealism from time to time.”

“Is that so?” Julian grinned. “Well then, it seems I have no choice but to accept her offer.”

“At the very least, you will save the crew from having to deal with that annoying hologram.”

“Not exactly... The Captain made it clear that the EMH will be kept online. He knows the crew better than I do and knows more about Delta Quadrant specific ailments and species.” Julian explained. “And I think, despite his awful beside manner, the crew has grown rather fond of him.”

“What a pity...”

“You are NOT going to deactivate him.”

“Who said anything about that?”

“I know that look.”

“I thought the Federation prided itself in insisting that perpetrators are innocent until proven guilty through due process of law.”

“You’re insufferable!”

Garak smiled. “So I’ve been told.”

“I’m due in the infirmary in a few minutes.” Julian said, getting up from his chair. “Try not to get into too much trouble while I’m away.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

\--- 

Julian could hear shouting before he even reached the sickbay door. He winced, the Doctor was clearly not happy about ‘being replaced.’

Julian was sympathetic to his situation. Even though, logically, he understood that things like androids and holograms weren’t sentient, he still didn’t like when people treated them like mindless machines. It just felt wrong.

The Doctor was by far the most advanced hologram Julian had met. He displayed a remarkable amount of self-awareness (most holograms didn’t realize they were holograms) and had been treated more like a member of the crew than just an EMH program.

Julian wanted to work with him, not replace him, but he had a feeling their working relationship was going to have a rough start.

He walked through the doors to find the Doctor, Captain Janeway, and Commander Chakotay.

The Commander had introduced himself earlier when Julian and come up to the bridge to meet with the Captain. He was an intelligent and soft-spoken man, from what Julian had seen of him so far.

“You!” the Doctor said, marching over to Julian when he saw him come through the doors.“ This was all your idea, wasn’t it?”

“Actually, it was mine.” Chakotay said. “I suggested it to the Captain this morning. Dr. Bashir will probably be here for a while so I felt it was important he be integrated into the rest of the crew, like the Captain did for myself, the rest of the maquis, Neelix, and Seven of Nine.”

The Doctor turned back around to face the Commander. “Well, I see you’ve all made this decision without consulting me, but then again, who cares what a hologram has to say. It’s not as if I have rights—“

“This has nothing to do with that.” Janeway interrupted. Julian got the sense this was a conversation they’d had many times before.“Dr. Bashir went all the way through Starfleet medical and has had years of experience on Deep Space Nine.”

“And does Dr. Bashir know anything about the phage? The macrovirus? The physiology of any Delta Quadrant species?”

“I’m not here to replace you.” Julian said, finally able to find an opening in the conversation. “I was hoping to work with you.”

“If I recall, earlier you told me to stop telling you how to do your job when all I was trying to do was offer some friendly advice,” the Doctor retorted.

“I wouldn’t call that advice—“

“Gentlemen.” Janeway cut in. “I’m not asking you to be good friends, but the fact is you both have knowledge that is useful to me and the rest of this crew. You need to learn to work together.”

The two doctors stared at each other for a moment. “I think we can figure something out,” Julian said. 

“I suppose there’s no harm in trying.” The Doctor admitted but he still didn’t look particularly pleased.

“Good,” the Captain said, putting her hands on her hips. “The health of the crew depends on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated! What do you think so far?


	6. The Fight

Julian was at the holodeck at precisely 1800 hours. Walking through the doors he immediately stopped. 

Everything was in black and white.

Aside from the monochrome, the decor had a retro feel to it, and there were panels full of flashing dials and buttons lining the walls.

“Dr. Bashir!” Harry called from across the room. “Glad you could make it.”

“I’ve never seen a program like this before.” Julian said as he looked around. “It’s remarkable.”

“Glad to see someone appreciates my handiwork.” Another man said as he approached Julian. “Tom Paris. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” Tom held out his hand.

Julian took it. “A Pleasure.” He said, and then let go. “If you don’t mind my asking, why is everything in black and white?”

“You ever watched any old Earth science fiction serials from the 1930s?”

“I can’t say I have.”

“I modeled this holonovel after those old programs. They didn’t have screens that could display color back then so I modified the holoprojectors to make everything appear in monochrome.” Tom explained. “I call the program: _The Adventures of Captain Proton_. I play Captain Proton and Harry plays Buster Kincaid, and together we stop Doctor Chaotica from carrying out his evil plans.”

“A Doctor? Is that who I’ll be playing?”

“I have a better idea.” Harry chimed in. “How about we give him the part of Satan’s Robot?”

\--- 

Garak found himself with an abundance of free time.

He was glad that Julian could make himself useful in sickbay, but the Cardassian’s tailoring skills weren’t as easily transferable. Besides, he got the sense that the Captain and her crew didn’t really know what to make of him. 

He was more that used to cold shoulders and side-glances on Deep Space Nine, but at least there he had felt useful. 

Now he was floating through an unknown part of space on a ship much smaller than the station. Everything that had once seemed important was far, far away. Cardassia, the Dominion, the Federation, they might as well not exist. There weren’t even any Cardassian novels in the ships database or dishes programmed into the replicators to remind him of home. Exile on the station seemed like a mere annoyance compared to his current situation.

Garak was well and truly stranded. However, the presence of his dear doctor was a great comfort. 

Julian was off making new friends no doubt, while Garak sat around moping.

_You could have gone with him._ He reminded himself. Yes, and to what end?

He had spent years attempting to repress his feelings for the man, and had (until recently) believed he had finally succeeded. The last few days had brought these feelings up to the surface, much to Garak’s great embarrassment.

_Sentiment._ Garak sighed. Perhaps a walk would do him good.

He had spent some time reviewing _Voyager’s_ schematics found in the ship’s computer, but he felt it was still important to familiarize himself with the interior of the ship. It wouldn’t do to be unprepared in case of an emergency.

Garak made his way out the door of his quarters and bared right down the corridor. He and Julian had been given quarters on deck five, not far from sickbay or the turbolift. Garak boarded the lift and thought for a moment about what parts of the ship he hadn’t seen yet.

“Engineering.” He told the computer and the lift began to move.

It wasn’t long before Garak found himself in main engineering. Various crew members bustled about between consoles while the warp core pulsed blue. There was nothing like this on Deep Space Nine. Aside from a gentle rotation, the station was not exactly built to move so there was no need for a warp core.

Garak began to approach the core, wanting to get a closer look.

“Hey!” said a voice. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Garak turned in the direction of the speaker. It was the part-Klingon woman and she looked less than pleased to see him. _Oh, this will be fun._ “Good evening, miss...?” He began.

“ _Lieutenant_ B’Elanna Torres.” She corrected in irritation.

“A pleasure to formally make your acquaintance.” Her rank pin wasn’t the Starfleet standard, so Garak wasn’t entirely at fault for not knowing her rank.

“You didn’t answer my question, what are you doing?”

“I was merely examining your warp core.”

B’Elanna’s eyes narrowed. “Does the Captain know you’re here?”

“Is there a reason she should? I was under the impression that Dr. Bashir and I were free to move about the ship without a chaperone.”

“So you expect me to believe that you just decided to come down to engineering for fun?”

“I was going for a stroll, yes.” Garak said.

B’Elanna gave him a smile devoid of all humor. “No ulterior motives, really?” She put her hands on her hips. “Your kind can’t exactly be trusted.”

It was Garak’s turn to narrow his eyes. “My kind? Would you care to elaborate?”

“Cardassians.”

“Ah! So that’s what this is all about.” Garak said, circling around to the lieutenant’s opposite side. “Tell me, Klingon.” The reference made B’Elanna flinch and Garak smiled. A sensitive subject it seemed. “How did you come to be such an expert on Cardassians?”

“I was in the Maquis.” She said, head held high.

Garak snorted. “That explains it then.”

“Explains what?” B’Elanna asked, her tone icy.

“Your immediate distaste towards me, your poor attitude, and the way you seem to throw yourself into confrontation without any real plan or purpose. What exactly were you hoping to get out of accusing me of scheming? Or, much like the pitiful organization you served, was there no real substance behind your bluster?”

B’Elanna had moved so her face was inches away from Garak’s. Before she could say anything, Garak plowed onward.

“You barely know me Lieutenant, so let me tell you something. I had absolutely nothing to do with the treaty that handed over Federation boarder colonies to Cardassia. I’ve been exiled from Cardassia for years. That is not to say I’m not a proud Cardassian. _I_ take pride in my heritage.”

“Your heritage is nothing to be proud of! It’s covered in the blood of innocents.”

Garak let out a humourless laugh. “My dear, have you ever spent any time among your own kind? If we’re going to discuss bloodlust—“

“The only reason you aren’t locked up in the brig is because of your federation boyfriend.”

Garak’s eyes widened. “Oh?”

“You’ve lied your way into his heart and now you have someone who you can use to get Starfleet privileges.” 

Once, a very long time ago, Garak had singled out Julian as someone he could exploit for access to federation intelligence. But now, the idea that Garak would use Julian’s friendship like that made him feel sick. “I have the decency to lie to others rather than myself. I’m not even a Klingon and even I can see you lack honor.”

“How dare you lecture me about honor you lying bastard! At least I never made a habit of sleeping with the enemy.”

Her words were like a slap in the face. Both the notion that if he ever had the unattainable pleasure of sleeping with Julian he would simply squander it to acquire Federation secrets, and the idea that Julian could ever be his enemy...

The shouting had escalated to the point where all of the engineering staff had paused their work to watch the show. Even so, Ensign Vorik would later report that it was unclear who threw the first punch.

\---

“Dr. Bashir, please report to sickbay.” Came the voice of the EMH. “Your presence is required.”

Julian was still with Tom and Harry on the holodeck. He blinked, trying to bring himself out of the holonovel he had been so engrossed in. After a bit of persuasion, he had convinced the other men to let him play Doctor Chaotica and he found the role to be a great deal of fun, even if it was a far cry from the sort of character he normally played. How long had he even been in here..?

“I’m on my way.” He said into his comm badge.

“My apologies.” he said to Tom and Harry. “Duty calls.”

“See you around, Julian.” Harry said with a wave and Julian walked out the doors. Whatever was going on in sickbay, the Doctor hadn’t said it was an emergency, which probably meant he had a couple of minutes to change out of costume.

Julian took the turbolift from deck six to deck five. When he stopped by his quarters he was a bit surprised to see the lights off and no signs of Garak. Maybe he was meeting with the Captain about the bed situation. Julian made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Once he was back in uniform, Julian made the short trip down the hall to sickbay. When the doors opened, Julian was entirely unprepared for the sight that greeted him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire fic came from the single thought: “Garak and B’Elanna would fistfight on sight.” I just sort of built around it from there.
> 
> To be honest, I've felt really unsure/anxious regarding this story for the past few days but all the nice comments encourage me to keep posting.


	7. The Slip of the Tongue

“What the hell happened? Julian said, crossing the length of sickbay in a few strides to get a closer look at Garak.

The Cardassian sat on one of the bio beds. His hair was disheveled, his lower lip was split, and his clothing was rumpled. His appearance stood in stark contrast to his usual tidy self.

Before anyone could answer Julian, the Captain walked through the doors.

“Would anyone care to explain what’s going on?” Janeway asked, sounding less than pleased.

Neither Garak nor B’Elanna seemed inclined to give an answer, so the Doctor supplied one. “It seems that Lieutenant Torres and Mr. Garak had an altercation in engineering.” He said as he worked to repair a cut on B’Elanna’s face.

Tom Paris walked through the door and immediately went to B’Elanna’s side. Julian guessed that he must have been summoned not long after himself. Tom had mentioned in passing that the chief engineer was his girlfriend

“What a merry gathering.” Garak remarked and Julian shot him a glare.

“I don’t find this particularly amusing, Mr. Garak.” Janeway said. “Frankly, I’m disappointed, in both of you.” She shot a pointed glance at B’Elanna. “Mr. Garak, I realize you’re new to this crew but you’ll have to learn to live by our rules if you plan on staying with us. B’Elanna, I expect better from my chief engineer. You’re both confined to quarters until further notice, is that clear?”

“Captain—“ B’Elanna began to protest.

“Not now, Lieutenant.” Janeway cut her off. “I’ll talk to both of you once your injuries are healed and you’ve had a chance to cool off.” She then addressed Tom and Julian. “See to it that Mr. Garak and Lieutenant Torres don’t wander off.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tom replied and Julian nodded.

“Good.” Janeway said, and with that she made her way to the exit.

Julian turned his attention back to Garak, who wore an expression indicating he was in no way sorry about the events that had transpired. “Captain Janeway isn’t the only one you should be concerned about. You and I will have words when we get back to our quarters.”

Garak raised an eyebrow ridge. “Is that a threat or a promise?”

Julian picked up the nearest dermal regenerator. He refused to give Garak the satisfaction of an answer.

\--- 

The very instant Garak and Julian returned to their quarters the doctor began to interrogate him.

“What happened between you and Lieutenant Torres?”

“We came to the realization that we do not, to use a human expression, see eye to eye.”

“This isn’t funny Garak.” Julian said, crossing his arms across his chest.

“I never said it was.”

“Who started it?”

“Hmm, I would say the decision was mutual.”

“What did you say to her?”

“I merely encouraged her to take more pride in her heritage.” Garak said as he sat down on the couch. “But that was only after she used my race as proof that I had visited engineering under false pretenses.”

“So that’s what caused the fight, cultural differences?”

“Not quite. She also implied several things about my... relationships that I would prefer not to repeat.” Garak considered for a moment whether it would be worth using a replicator ration for a cup of tea.

“I see.” Julian said, sitting down next to Garak. “Why were you in engineering anyway?”

“Curiosity.” Garak studied his companion for a moment. “You don’t seem particularly upset.”

Julian shrugged. “It’s the Captain’s job to discipline you, not mine. Besides, I’ve never been able to stay mad at you for long.”

Garak’s heart fluttered at the admission. “I take it you enjoyed your time on the holodeck?” He asked, opting for a change in subject.

“Tom’s holonovel is amazing. The amount of thought he’s put into it is impressive. It’s entirely period accurate to 1930s science fiction serials, the costumes, the sets...” Julian began to enthuse. Garak watched Julian speak but found it difficult to focus on what he was saying. 

On an aesthetic level, there was a lot to appreciate about Dr. Julian Bashir. His lean figure, warm brown skin, and hair that Garak believed would be soft, if he were ever brave enough to touch it. Right now there was a sparkle in Julian’s eyes that always seemed to appear whenever he spoke with any amount of passion.

It was part of why Garak enjoyed their literary discussions. If he said just the right things he could get Julian worked up in such a way that the doctor’s wit and intellect were put on full display. Garak found it all so magnificently alluring, not that he would ever tell Julian. It was evident to Garak that Julian saw him as a friend, nothing more, and the Cardassian had made peace with that. As an exile, having a friend was more than he could have ever asked for.

“Garak?”

“Hmmm?”

“Have you even heard a word I said?”

“Apologies my dear, I was... lost in thought.”

Julian tilted his head. “What were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking how beautiful you look when you talk.” Garak blinked and a lump of panic began to rise in his throat. _Had he really just said that? No, no, no!_ “No, that’s not what I intended—“

“Garak.” Julian said softly. “It’s ok.” He smiled. “Thank you.”

Garak just stared. 

“You’re not so bad looking yourself.” Julian added.

_What._ This couldn’t be happening. “Computer, end program.”

Julian laughed. “Oh this is real, like it or not.” The way he looked at Garak sent a shiver down his spine. “I’ve been waiting for you to say something for years now.” 

Garak was caught somewhere between wanting to flee the area and throwing himself at Julian. He compromised by doing neither.

Julian took the silence as a sign to continue. “When you first approached me in the Replimat all those years ago, I could tell you were... interested, but I wasn’t sure to what end so I waited for some indication of where you wanted a relationship to go but you never made a move.”

Garak was shocked out of his stupor. “Never made a move? I had lunch with you every week!”

Julian blinked. “Well, yes, but I ate lunch with lots of people.”

“And did you argue with those people?”

“...Sometimes? Are you telling me that the Cardassian equivalent of making a move is arguing literature over lunch?” 

“I can see all those lunches were wasted as it’s clear you never paid any attention to the nuances of the Cardassian works we discussed.”

“Oh my God.” Julian rubbed a hand over his face. “What a day for cultural misunderstandings.”

“Indeed.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“Garak, how come you never said anything, when I didn’t respond to your advances?”

“I assumed you were simply uninterested.”

“But you kept having lunch with me.”

“Sentiment has always been my greatest weakness.”

“I see.” 

They elapsed once again into silence. Garak hated it.

After several minutes, Julian spoke. “It seems we both have a lot to think about. I’ve had a long day, so I’m going to bed, but we need to talk about this in the morning.” The look he gave Garak made it very clear that it was not going to be a conversation he could easily opt out of.

“I understand.”

“Do you know if maintenance was able to get a spare mattress in here while I was away?”

Garak winced. “Ah, I’m afraid I never found the time to request a second bed.”

Julian slowly nodded. “I’ll take the couch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	8. The Confession

Garak woke up alone the next morning. He woke up alone most mornings. He had to remind himself that yesterday had been the exception.

The Cardassian was never one to wallow in bed but this morning he was in no rush to start the day. He knew the problem was not going to go away without a confrontation of some sort. Perhaps it was better to get it over with.

\---

Julian was already up and about. He had been tired the night before, but sleep had still been difficult to come by.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Garak.

He had always held an affection for the tailor but he assumed it was one-sided. Apparently he had been wrong.

Yet Garak hadn’t seemed particularly enthusiastic about the revelation. It had slipped out of him and he appeared to regret it almost instantly.

Garak wasn’t normally so careless, but it had been a rather trying few days for the both of them.

Julian had no idea how to navigate the waters they now found themselves in. He wasn’t sure how to go about getting romantically involved with a good friend without ruining the friendship.

Most of the time his relationships were relationships first and then friends later, after they broke up, if he was lucky.

Well, that was really only Leeta.

Julian sighed. In this moment he sorely missed Jadzia. She would know exactly what to do, what to say. He missed Miles too. If this all went horribly south he would have no one and nowhere to drink away his sorrows. _Voyager_ was sorely lacking a Quark’s Bar and a Chief Miles Edward O’Brien. Perhaps Harry would take pity on him...

Julian was hovering near the replicator. He had heard Garak get up and go into the bathroom a few minutes ago. It would probably be a good idea to replicate some breakfast. 

There were no Cardassian dishes programed into the replicator so Julian went with his own choice of scones, jam, and tea. He sat down at the table, warming his hands with one of the mugs.

Garak emerged from the other room looking as put together as always.

_Maybe not always,_ Julian reminded himself, thinking of sickbay the day before. “I replicated some breakfast. I know scones aren’t your favorite but these replicators don’t exactly have the variety we’re used to.”

“No need to apologize. The scones are adequate.” Garak said, taking the seat opposite Julian.

They ate in silence, each waiting for the other to bring up the only topic that mattered.

Surprisingly, it was Garak who finally broke. “I believe it is I who owe you an apology, my dear. I’m afraid that last night I said something I did not intend to. It won’t happen again.” 

Julian was shaking his head even before Garak finished speaking. “No, Garak. We can’t just ignore this.”

“Well what exactly do you propose we do, doctor?” 

“You can call me Julian, you know.”

Garak looked at him for a long moment. “On Cardassia, first names are rarely used by people outside of one’s family.”

“Neither of us has much of a family, besides you’ve called me Julian before.”

“I did?”

“When we first arrived on Voyager, in sickbay.”

“Ah, yes, I suppose I did.” Garak stared into his tea.

“Look, I like you and now I know that you like me, so what’s to stop us from acting on those feelings.”

Garak snorted. “A great many things.”

Julian leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Like what?”

“Starfleet has never been pleased about my... unsavory history. How would you be able to explain our relationship to your Federation superiors?”

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we’re a long way from the Federation. And even if we weren’t, I don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks.”

“Julian, be sensible.”

“Sensible!” Julian launched to his feet. “How am I supposed to be sensible when I—“ He clapped a hand over his mouth as his voice broke. He took a deep breath, taking a moment to compose himself.

Garak was watching him with those ice blue eyes that some people might call unsettling. Julian never felt that that was a fair description. Intense, intelligent, calculating, mischievous when the situation warranted it, and behind it all, a warmth that Julian was inexplicably drawn to, but never unsettling.

Julian steeled himself. It was time to put all his cards on the table. He began again. “How am I supposed to be sensible when I love you?”

\--- 

_Oh._

If Garak hadn’t known better he would’ve thought the artificial gravity had chosen that moment to experience a cataclysmic failure.

He was floating in very dangerous territory.

Julian was his lunch companion, perhaps his only true friend in all the universe. The doctor holding some amount of affection for him, or even being attracted to him was one thing, but love...

The cynical side of his mind said that Julian was just confused. He was a long way from home and seeking anything familiar. Humans did strange things when they were lonely or frightened. It was possible that Julian didn’t really know what real love was. Judging by his previous relationships, which Garak had the unfortunate pleasure to observe, the doctor did have a tendency to become infatuated and even obsessed. Then again, none of Julian’s previous exploits had been like him. They had all been young, pretty, typically (though not always) female, and seemed to possess the bare minimum amount of secrets. All of Julian’s former partners had been everything Garak was not, so what did it all mean? 

He pushed the thoughts aside. It was treacherous place to be. Garak felt that he was skirting the edge of a cliff where one misstep would send him spiraling to his death.

But Garak had spent years having every sliver of self-preservation trained out of him. 

“Kiss me,” he found himself saying.

Julian blinked. “Are you sure?”

“Please, Julian.” He breathed.

Julian obliged, stepping closer and leaning down to bring his lips to Garak’s.

Garak hadn’t felt such a rush since the wire. Julian’s lips were soft and tasted of raspberry jam. Oh, this was good, so good. 

After what felt like not nearly enough time, Julian pulled away. He couched in front of Garak’s chair and took his hands in his own.

“I know you like to dance around the truth, and quite frankly I tend to enjoy your fabrications.” Julian smiled and then his face turned serious. “But just this once, I need you to be honest with me.”

Garak raised an eyebrow ridge. “I will endeavor to try, but I make no promises.”

“Just tell me what it is you want.”

“I thought I made it quite obvious?”

“Perhaps, but I want you to say it. Please, Garak.”

Looking into Julian’s eyes, Garak thought he might melt. “Please, my dear, call me Elim.”

Julian beamed. “All right. What do you want, Elim?”

“I want you, Julian. I’ve always wanted you.” Garak said, and they were the truest words he had ever spoken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	9. The Interrogation

Julian and Garak looked at one another, souls laid bare. 

The doctor opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything a comm came through.

“Captain Janeway to Mr. Garak, I’d like to see you in my ready room.”

Garak gave Julian a sympathetic look and stood, pulling the human up with him. “I’ll be there shortly.” He responded to the Captain. “I’m afraid I must leave you for the time being, my dear.” He said to Julian. The poor man looked equal parts disappointed and irritated. The Captain certainly had a knack for timing. “But I fully intend to finish this conversation when we are together again.” He added.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Julian said. “He let go of Garak’s hands, only to wrap his arms around the Cardassian for a bone-crushing hug.

It took a few moments for Garak to process what was happening. He was not accustomed to this sort of physical affection. He slowly wrapped his arms around the human, giving him a slight squeeze. It was... nice, Garak supposed, though not nearly as good as the kiss had been.

Garak waited, but Julian didn’t seem to have any plans of letting him go in the near future.

“Julian, it would be impolite to keep the Captain waiting.” He said.

With some amount of reluctance, Julian detached himself. “You’re right of course.” He sighed. “I have a shift in sickbay starting soon so I probably won’t see you until later.”

“I understand.”

“Good luck with the Captain, and try not to get in any more fights on the way there.”

“I’m a Cardassian. We don’t believe in luck.”

Julian just rolled his eyes.

\--- 

“Mr. Garak, have a seat.” Janeway said, gesturing to the empty chair in front of her desk.

As soon as he sat down, the Captain began to speak.

“I’m afraid I don’t really understand you, Mr. Garak. There’s very little about you in our database, granted it is a few years out of date.” She paused to take a sip of coffee from the mug on her desk. Garak wondered if she ever let the mug run empty. 

“Dr. Bashir seems to trust you, but I don’t.” She studied him carefully. Garak wasn’t entirely sure what she was hoping to find.

“A wise decision on your part.”

Janeway raised an eyebrow. “Is that a threat?”

“Merely an observation. I highly doubt you and your crew would have survived this long in this corner of space by trusting every stranger who happened to come on board.”

“You weren’t always a tailor, were you Mr. Garak?”

“Were you always a Starfleet Captain?”

“I was once Captain of the school tennis team, but we’re not discussing my past professions, we’re discussing yours.”

Garak couldn’t help but admire the Captain’s persistence. 

“Is Garak even your real name?”

“Of course.”

“Why have you spent the last several years living on Deep Space Nine? I doubt the Bajorans made it particularly comfortable for you, given the history your worlds share.”

“I grew rather tired of living with my parents, they could be quite overbearing.”

“Let me make myself clear.” Janeway said, leaning forward in her chair. “Either you start answering my questions or I’ll have Tuvok throw you in the brig until you do.”

As intriguing as Garak found the idea of being interrogated by a Vulcan, he was not about to abandon Julian for a holding cell.

“Very well. What do you need to know?” Garak wasn’t planning to tell her much, just enough to satisfy her curiosity.

“Let’s start with your previous jobs.” Janeway said and leaned back in her chair.

“I’ve been a gardener, I worked for an intelligence service, I’ve dabbled with isolinear data subprocessors...”

“You were a spy?”

Garak dismissed her with a wave. “Nothing quite so fantastical I assure you, merely a desk job, processing paperwork. They wouldn’t let me near the truly classified information.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Janeway deadpanned. 

“I have found it useful to gather skills where I can.” 

“You know your way around computers then?”

“Naturally.”

Janeway nodded, seemingly satisfied with that line of questioning. She took another drink of her coffee. “Why have you been living on Deep Space Nine?”

“I’m in exile.”

This surprised the Captain. “Exile? What were you exiled for?”

“Tax fraud.”

Janeway pursed her lips in a way that suggested she didn’t entirely buy that explanation. “What is the real reason you were accompanying Dr. Bashir before your runabout crashed?”

“As I told you before, I was planning to meet a silk merchant.”

“You and Dr. Bashir must be quite close for him to agree to spending several days alone in a shuttlecraft together.” Janeway stood up and moved towards the front of her desk. She leaned on it, mug in hand, forcing Garak to turn to the left to maintain eye contact.

“Perhaps.” Garak said, not liking where the conversation was headed, nor the way the Captain now loomed over him.

“What is the nature of your relationship?” The Captain asked, disregarding any pretext of subtlety.

Garak couldn’t give her an answer even if he wanted to, since he wasn’t sure himself. Certainly more than friends, but the particulars of their relationship were yet to be solidified. Rather than answer Janeway, Garak opted for deflection. “Forgive me, but I couldn’t help but notice that you and Commander Chakotay are quite close. I know it’s not surprising that a Captain and her first officer would become friends, after all, they rely on one another in high stress situations, but the two of you—“

“That’s enough.” Janeway cut him off. Garak was satisfied in seeing that he had succeeded in unbalancing the Captain. His point had been made. Janeway returned to her seat with a sigh, rubbing a hand on her forehead, as if warding off a headache. “Every member of this crew contributes in some way, according to their abilities. Neelix cooks, Seven of Nine works in astrometerics, and now Dr. Bashir has a place in the infirmary. I’m still not entirely sure where you’ll fit in, but I’m going to have you take some shifts in both astrometerics and engineering, until we figure out what works.”

Garak raised an eyebrow ridge. “I think Lieutenant Torres may object to that.”

“I’ll be speaking with her next.”

The doors to Janeway’s office slid open and in walked Chakotay. “Sorry to disturb you, but you asked me to let you know when we were approaching the nebula.”

“That I did.” Janeway said to Chakotay, her face softening. “We were just finishing up.” She turned to Garak. “You’re dismissed Mr. Garak, you’ll report to astrometerics at 0800 tomorrow.”

“Yes, Captain.” Garak said, standing up and giving her a slight dip of his head before walking to the exit.

Making his way across the bridge, he entered the turbolift and requested to be taken to deck five. He didn’t have anywhere else to be until the next morning, so he may as well pay Julian a visit.

\--- 

Julian was busy familiarizing himself with patient files when Garak walked into sickbay. He supposed he should start thinking of him as Elim now that they were... whatever they were. Boyfriends? It sounded so juvenile. Maybe there was some Cardassian word that sounded better. He would have to remember to ask later. “I take it you just finished your meeting with the Captain?”

“Indeed.” Elim said. “Captain Janeway seems to think that giving me a job to do will help keep me out of trouble.”

“Unlikely.” The EMH said, not bothering to look up from the console he was working on. Julian and Garak both turned to stare at him.

“She’s probably right.” Julian smiled, returning his gaze to Elim.

The Cardassian drew close enough that Julian could feel his breath on the back of his neck as he snaked an arm around his waist. Julian shivered. Such an overt public display on Elim’s part was a welcome surprise.

“Are you quite certain you don’t want me to deactivate him.” Elim murmured in his ear, sending a bolt of lighting down Julian’s spine at the sensation. 

Julian laughed. “I’ll keep your offer in mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Janeway being Captain of a tennis team is a reference to Jeri Taylor’s novel, “Mosaic.”
> 
> I had entirely too much fun writing Garak and Janeway going toe to toe with one another.


	10. The Reinvention

After leaving the infirmary, Garak returned to his quarters. He had nowhere to be until the next morning and Julian’s shift didn’t end until later in the afternoon. 

Julian.

Garak didn’t know what it was about the Delta Quadrant that made him so sentimental. No, he had always been sentimental, Tain had been quick to point that out. No, the issue was that now he was acting on his feelings, feelings that he had worked hard to restrain, until recently.

When the dam broke, it would be impossible to stop the flood and Garak had no intention of trying.

For the first time in his life he had the opportunity to take a chance on something without fear of retaliation. Cardassia, the Order, Deep Space Nine, Starfleet, they might as well not exist for how little they impacted Garak in this moment.

A good Cardassian was expected to serve the state in all things, but Garak had always felt he wasn’t a very good Cardassian, even before his exile.

Tonight he planned on being entirely selfish.

He’d already had a taste in sickbay, when he had held Julian so possessively.

Garak smiled at the thought. He never would’ve done such a thing on DS9, but everything on _Voyager_ had a fantasy-like quality to it. It felt as if none of his actions would have any real consequences.

He would never dash Julian’s hopes by saying it out loud, but Garak was almost certain that none of them would ever set foot in the Alpha Quadrant again. Which was, quite frankly, a relief.

He could reinvent himself entirely and no one but Julian would know who he had been.

Julian. 

What a wonderful creature. Garak’s evidently xenophilic tendencies were yet another thing that marked him as un-Cardassian, but he was finding it more and more difficult to care.

It would still be some hours before he saw his dear doctor again. Garak picked up a PADD and retired to the sofa to do some reading. Julian had suggested he take a look at _Much Ado About Nothing._

\--- 

Julian left work in high spirits. He felt he was finally getting adjusted to the differences between Deep Space Nine’s infirmary and _Voyager’s_ sickbay. He had to remind himself not to get too comfortable. With any luck, they would make it home soon. How that was going to be accomplished he had no idea, but it was better than dwelling on the alternative.

Julian was also beginning to get used to the EMH. The Doctor’s social skills and bedside manner certainly left much to be desired, but having meet Dr. Zimmerman, that wasn’t really surprising. Besides, Julian was sure that there were patients and colleagues who felt the same about him. All things considered, the EMH was really quite a clever program. He had his own interests and hobbies, which he needed no prompting to expound upon. Julian nearly forgot that his companion was a collection of photons and subroutines.

Julian opened the door to his quarters. He was greeted by the sight of Garak sitting at the table, dinner laid out before him, and— _my God._ Julian blinked. Was he wearing a bathrobe?

“Welcome back doctor, I took the liberty of replicating dinner.” Garak said.

Julian swallowed. “Thank you, Ga—Elim.” He corrected himself as he joined Elim at the dinner table. “What is it?”

“Something the computer referred to as ‘Pad Thai.’ I believe it meets your dietary restrictions?”

Julian smiled. He remembered how confused the Cardassian had been when he first tried to explain the concept of vegetarianism.

_“If it all comes from the same replicator than I fail to see how it matters what form your food takes.”_

_“It’s about the principal of the thing, Garak. You know, almost all Vulcans are vegetarian, even though they have access to replicators.”_

_“I was under the impression you were human, not Vulcan.”_

_“My point is, it’s about discipline, and taking the concept of doing no harm seriously.”_

_“Tell that to the unfortunate piece of broccoli you’ve been stabbing for the duration of this conversation.”_

“Something on your mind, my dear?” Elim’s words brought Julian back to the present.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. This was very thoughtful of you.” Julian said, picking up his fork. “I feel bad that there’s no Cardassian dishes in the replicator, maybe we could get someone to program some, or see if Neelix can make any from scratch—“

Elim held up a hand to stop him. “That won’t be necessarily. I would prefer not to burden this crew further.”

Julian set down his fork just as he was about to take a bite. “Burden? You’re not a burden, Elim.”

“Aren’t I? The Captain doesn’t seem to know what do with me, I can’t exactly continue my business here, and most of my other skills use methods which run counter to Starfleet teachings. So what am I, if not a drain on resources?”

“For what it’s worth, you aren’t a burden to me. You never have been.”

Elim looked at him for a long moment. “That remains to be seen.”

\---

Garak didn’t know why he was talking himself into this hole. He was supposed to be having dinner with and seducing the good doctor but here he was, still refusing to let Julian in.

So much for reinventing himself.

His confidence was slipping away and he hated it, hated himself for the way he was falling apart.

He was so absorbed in his inner-turmoil that he almost didn’t register Julian reaching across the table to take his hand.

“Elim,” Julian said softly. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“You have no way of knowing for certain.”

“You’re right,” Julian admitted. “But sometimes you just have to keep telling yourself everything’s okay until you’re forced to believe it.”

Garak couldn’t help but smile at that. “You’re suggesting I lie, to myself?”

Julian returned the smile. “It shouldn’t be too difficult for a man of your abilities.” He leaned forward and gave Garak a kiss on the chufa. “Come on, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

\--- 

Whatever funk Elim had been in, he seemed to feel better on a full stomach. When they had finished eating, the Cardassian returned the plates to the replicator and then gestured for Julian to join him on the couch.

Julian obliged, keeping what he felt was a respectful distance between them as he sat down.

Elim huffed in annoyance.

Julian smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Something bothering you?”

“Merely your inability to recognize subtleties of any kind. I almost feel as though all those years of lunches were wasted.”

“Perhaps I’m just hoping you’ll say what you mean.”

“Julian, when I invited you to sit with me, surely you did not think I meant on the opposite end of the sofa?”

Julian shrugged. “How am I supposed to know unless you tell me?” 

“You seem to derive a perverse amount of pleasure from this.” The way Elim looked at him made Julian’s insides melt but he did his best to ignore it.

“I need to entertain myself somehow. My racquetball partner is several thousand light-years away.” Julian had meant it as a joke but it fell flat. As grateful as he was to have Elim here, he missed his friends, terribly.

Elim looked at him for a long moment before saying anything. “Might I suggest an activity that would be entertaining for the both of us?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Julian Bashir, vegetarian, is one of my favorite little details from beta canon.
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated. <3


	11. The Culmination

Garak closed the distance between himself and Julian, placing a hand on the side of his face.

Julian’s eyes widened. “Elim...”

“Yes, my dear?”

“I love you.”

“And I you, Julian.” Garak replied as he leaned forward, brushing his lips against Julian’s.

The doctor responded in the affirmative, sinking deep into the kiss.

Garak felt a hand slide over his chest where the robe left him exposed. He shivered at the contact. It has been so long since anyone had touched him like this.

Julian let out a little moan and started doing funny things with his tongue. Garak had to resist the urge to bite it. He was sure that would most likely ruin the moment if not the whole evening. Although for all he knew, Julian might enjoy it...

Both of Julian’s hands were roaming freely around Garak’s body. With each passing second the Cardassian felt his control slipping away. It should have been cause for concern. Garak had spent the majority of his life making sure he was always in control of every situation, or at the very least, maintaining the appearance of control. In this moment, he was more than happy to let Julian take the lead.

He trusted Julian.

The thought hit him like phaser fire to the chest and he gasped.

Julian pulled back and his hands stilled. “Elim?”

“I’m fine.” Garak assured him. “Please, continue what you were doing.”

Julian knitted his brows together in concern. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You have to promise to tell me if you want to stop or slow down.”

“You have my word.”

That seemed to be good enough for Julian. He nodded and recaptured Garak’s lips in his own.

Tain, Palandine, Mila, he had never truly trusted any of them, but Julian...

He trusted him, implicitly.

It was equal parts terrifying, and relieving.

Garak fell back onto the couch while Julian positioned himself so he was straddling Garak’s thighs.

Julian’s gaze swept over him. “It seems a bit unfair of me to still be in uniform.”

“It’s practically a crime that you’re required to wear that hideous article in the first place.”

Julian grinned. “So what you’re saying is that you think it would look better on the floor?”

“As a tailor, I wouldn’t typically condone such treatment of one’s clothes, but in this case I will have to make an exception.”

“My hands are a bit occupied at the moment.” Julian said, tracing around Garak’s exposed chula with his fingers. “Do you think you could help?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Garak said, reaching for the places where he knew the uniform unfastened. Before long, Julian’s upper body was completely bare.

Garak’s hands brushed skin and he was surprised at how smooth it was. Not only that, it was warm.

The Cardassian wrapped his arms around the human and pulled him forward so that Julian landed on top of him with a muffled “oomph.”

“Apologies, my dear, but has anyone ever told you that you have a very high body temperature?”

Julian laughed. “I can’t say anyone has. Although, I’ve never been with anyone as cold blooded as you.”

“Hmmmm.” Garak said. He was entirely too preoccupied with his new weighted blanket to bother with forming a complete sentence. 

“If you want to cuddle, then we should move to the bed.”

“You’re right, of course.” Garak said, letting go of Julian with great reluctance.

The doctor stood up and then offered a hand to Garak. He took it, and once they were level with one another, Garak scooped a surprised Julian into his arms.

“I am capable of walking, you know.” Julian said as Garak relocated them both to the bedroom.

“Rather presumptuous of you to assume that I’m doing this for your benefit. I simply didn’t want to relinquish my hold on your body heat.” 

Julian rolled his eyes good naturedly as Garak deposited him onto the bed. The Cardassian wasted no time in joining him. Once they were both under the covers, Garak wrapped his arms around Julian and pulled him close so that the doctor’s back was pressed up against Garak’s chest. “Much better.” The tailor declared.

He could feel Julian laugh. “You’re utterly ridiculous.”

“I am not.” Garak protested.

“Yes you are. You’re like a cat who just discovered a warm spot on the carpet.”

“Cat?” Garak recognized the word but couldn’t conjure up a proper definition. In fairness, he was a bit distracted

“An Earth animal, it’s not important.” Julian said dismissively. He turned so that they were facing each other. “You know, I was afraid that this would be awkward, me and you, but it feels like the most natural thing in the world.”

Garak knew what he meant. In the beginning he had feared damaging the one true friendship he had, but if anything all their years of lunches, debates, and misadventures only proved how well suited they were to one another. On Cardassia, finding a mate was mostly about practicality. It was ideal that your partner possess skills and abilities that you did not, allowing for household duties to be divided and completed efficiently, thereby allowing for more time to be spent in service to the state. The truly fortunate were the ones who were both well matched and in love.

“I couldn’t agree more, my dear.”

Julian raised an eyebrow. “You’re agreeing with me? No debate? I thought that was the Cardassian way.”

Garak sighed in mock disappointment. “Clearly you have much to learn about the ‘Cardassian way.’”

“And who’s fault is that? The student or the teacher?” Julian teased.

“The student’s, obviously. It’s his duty to pay close attention.”

“Well, could you perhaps explain what the student missed? I’m afraid his mind has a tendency to wander.”

“Very well, but only because the teacher is very fond of his pupil.” Garak said. “You see, when it comes to Cardassian courtship, debate is used by both parties to determine the intellectual prowess of a potential mate, as well as to put one’s own wit and conversation skills on display. If both participants respond well to one another, then the relationship progresses from that point. As you are already in my bed, we are well past the point of determining one another’s eligibility.”

“A shame, I rather enjoyed our arguments.”

“Oh, they will continue, it is only their purpose and frequency that will change. After all, it is important to keep one’s mind sharp.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Julian said, tilting his head up to kiss Garak’s chufa.

Garak held Julian close as he brought their lips together. Kissing Julian, he decided, was definitely the highlight of getting stranded in the delta quadrant.

He could feel Julian’s erection grinding up against him. He found it quite odd how humans left such a sensitive organ so exposed, but as is suited his purposes he wasn’t going to complain.

Garak broke the kiss and smiled. “It seems you have an... issue that may benefit from my assistance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And fade to black ;)
> 
> Thank you for commenting and leaving kudos!


	12. The Morning After

When Julian awoke the next morning the first thing that registered was that he felt as though he had been struck by lightning. The second thing he noticed was that he and his Cardassian bedmate were both completely naked.

Memories of last night washed over him and he smiled.

Elim holding him, touching him, inside of him, it had been the culmination of so many years of unspoken feelings.

Julian was grateful to have a friend like Elim and even more grateful that the universe had given them a chance to be something more. Julian wanted to return home more than anything, but he couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if the trip to the medical conference had gone on without a hitch. Would they have continued to dance around one another, neither one of them being able to make the first move?

Julian turned his head to look at Elim. The Cardassian’s eyes were closed, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was asleep. 

“Elim?” Julian whispered.

“Yes, my dear?” Elim replied, eyes still closed.

“I was just checking to see if you were awake.”

“I hope you were able to find the answer you were seeking.”

Julian snorted. “I believe I have.” He paused. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than usual.” Elim said, finally opening his eyes. “All thanks to you, I’m sure.” He leaned forward to plant a kiss on Julian’s invisible chufa.

“You’re not cold?” Julian felt it was a valid question since neither of them were wearing clothes.

“No, I find I’m quite warm.”

“One advantage of having a warm-blooded...” Julian wasn’t entirely sure what word to use. “Elim, what are we?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“What are we, boyfriends, mates, lovers?” Julian reiterated. “What am I supposed to introduce you as?”

Garak wrinkled his nose in distaste. “You’ve always introduced me as Mr. Garak, I see no reason why you should stop.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Is there a Cardassian term you would prefer then?”

“Julian, can we discuss this later? It’s nearly 0730 and we both have places to be.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll go replicate breakfast.”

\--- 

Julian all but skipped to sickbay.

“Morning Doctor.” He greeted the EMH with a smile. Julian walked over to the Doctor’s office. “What are you working on?”

The Doctor looked up from his work station, eyes narrowing. “You’re certainly chipper this morning.”

“Ah, just had a good night’s sleep I suppose.”

“Is that all?”

Julian frowned. He wasn’t exactly sure where this conversation was headed. “What else would it be?”

“Perhaps a virus, I’ve certainly seen stranger.”

“I don’t have a virus.”

“Did you give yourself a thorough scan this morning?”

“Well, no—“ 

“Then allow me.” The EMH said, pulling out a medical tricorder.

“I don’t think that’s necessary...” Julian began to protest.

The Doctor ignored him, flipping open the device. “Increased levels of oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin...”

“That’s quite enough.” Julian said, reaching for the tricorder.

The EMH stepped out of reach. “Are you sure you haven’t come into contact with any unusual substances?”

“Uh, nothing of consequence. Can we please not discuss this?”

“Dr. Bashir, I really must insist that you tell me what’s going on. As a doctor myself, I understand the reluctance to divulge personal information but—“

“I’m fine. I promise I don’t have any sort of infectious disease or virus or anything that would do harm to myself or others.”

“I don’t know how you did things on Deep Space Nine, but on Voyager we follow proper medical procedure.”

“I know the regulations, me being in a good mood is _not_ a ‘legitimate sign of infection’ for a human. If I were Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, then you would have the right to be concerned.”

“I must hold all crew members to the same standards. If you won’t cooperate I’ll have to make a report to the Captain.”

The last thing Julian wanted was to drag Captain Janeway into this. “Fine. I had sex last night, does that satisfy your need for an explanation?”

“Ah, well, that would certainly explain the tricorder readings.” The EMH admitted. “Rather soon, don’t you think?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You’ve only been on board a few days. I suggest you take it slow, take some time to get to know the crew first before you jump headfirst into a relationship.” The Doctor began to advise in earnest. “If you’re looking for some way to alleviate the need for—“

Julian cut him off. “No offense Doctor, but I don’t think I’m going to be taking relationship advice from a hologram.”

“Just because I’m a hologram doesn’t mean I don’t have experience in this field, as a matter of fact, I’ve had several romantic encounters—“

“Can we please just get to work?”

The Doctor shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He said and returned to whatever task he had been doing before Julian had walked in. 

Julian wondered if perhaps Elim had been right about how to handle the EMH.

\--- 

Garak arrived in astrometrics at precisely 0800. The welcoming committee consisted of a tall, blonde woman in a skin-tight suit, which Garak felt could have benefitted from some embellishment. 

He remembered the Captain referring to a ‘Seven of Nine.’ Garak assumed that this must be her. She did not bother to stop or look up from what she was working on. 

“The Captain informed me that you were to begin working in astrometrics and instructed me to supervise your progress.” She said by way of introduction. “I am recalibrating the long range sensors. You will assist me.” Seven of Nine handed Garak a PADD with a copy of the sensor schematics.

Garak was rather taken aback by her coldness. If this was the sort of conversation partner he would be expected to work with than perhaps he would be better off with Lieutenant Torres. 

“I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.”

“I am aware of who you are Mr. Garak.”

“Ah, but I don’t yet know who you are.”

She finally looked at him, giving Garak a clearer view of the cybernetic implants that were visible on part of her face. “I am Seven of Nine.”

“A curious name.”

“I was a part of the Borg collective before I joined this crew. My designation was Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01.”

“I can see why you shortened it.”

“It was inefficient for the crew.”

“Unsurprising, I’ve found that humans have a tendency to rush most everything.”

“Yet in their haste they are still inefficient.”

“Ah, you see, my dear, efficiency is a matter of both speed and attention to detail. It has been my experience that most people will excel at one but not both.”

“Does that include yourself?”

Garak smiled. “I am not most people.” He was beginning to believe that working in astrometrics wouldn’t be as nearly as terrible as he had first imagined.

\--- 

That evening, Julian listened to Garak enthuse about his day over dinner.

“Have you had the pleasure of meeting Seven of Nine yet, my dear?” Elim asked.

Julian shook his head. “I’ve heard she’s not really the social type, mostly hangs out in astrometrics or the cargo bay.”

“Well, I found her to be quite fascinating. She’s very Cardassian in some of her methods.”

“I’m glad to see you’re starting to make friends. I was beginning to get a little worried.” Julian teased.

Elim raised an eyebrow ridge. “I wouldn’t go that far. However, we have agreed on a cultural exchange. Tomorrow I will be teaching her to play kotra and she had agreed to introduce me to the game of kadis-kot.”

“Getting together to play board games is exactly the kind of thing friends do.”

“Perhaps.” Elim said, refusing to acknowledge that Julian was probably right.

Julian just shook his head with a smile. Elim could be impossibly stubborn, but Julian loved him for it, all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hand slipped and I accidently wrote Garak & Seven friendship. Not that I’m complaining.
> 
> I love reading all your lovely comments!


	13. The Lunch

Over a week later, Julian was in the mess hall about to subject himself to whatever concoction Neelix had whipped up that day. Some of the food in the Replimat had been bland, but at least it was consistent.

Julian usually ate with Elim, but today the Cardassian had forgone lunch in order to help Seven of Nine on some project. Not that Julian was jealous; Elim had been more than affectionate since they both realized what they wanted from one another. Julian found it quite amusing how quickly Elim and Seven had become friends. He supposed it made sense that an ex-borg and an ex-Obsidian Order agent would have a lot in common.

Since the Cardassian would not be joining him, Julian sat down at the table currently occupied by Tom and Harry.

“Hey Julian.” Harry greeted him.

“I’d be careful with today’s main course,” Tom warned as Julian picked up his fork. “It’s a doozy.”

Julian sighed. “Its days like this where I really miss Quark’s.”

Harry furrowed his brows. “The Ferengi?”

Julian set down his fork. “You know him?”

“Quark is the reason Harry and I met.” Tom replied.

“Deep Space Nine was the last place we stopped in the alpha quadrant. Quark had convinced me to buy a case of Lobi crystals before Tom showed up and told me that I could easily get them on any planet in the system.” Harry explained.

“Sounds like Quark all right.” Julian said. “He’ll try to swindle you out of anything, but for all his faults he is a good bartender.” Julian made up his mind to take a bite of his food and found that while it was not good, it certainly could’ve been worse.

B’Elanna Torres chose that moment to take the last seat at the table. Julian still wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. The Captain trusted her, and she seemed to be a very capable engineer, but the business between her and Elim made Julian uneasy.

Elim’s retelling of the fight had been vague at best. Julian’s solution was to talk to Tom, who had managed to get B’Elanna’s side of the story.

It was clear that Elim and B’Elanna had said some very nasty things to each other. Julian couldn’t blame B’Elanna for being upset. He had some idea of her history with the Maquis and their fight against the Cardassians. In some ways, the Klingon reminded him of Major Kira, they were both fiery, loyal, and committed to their cause.

B’Elanna wasted no time in when it came to eating her lunch.

“How go things in engineering?” Tom asked her.

“It feels like the first time in ages that we haven’t had something go wrong.” She said between bites. “We’re overdue for some warp core maintenance so I’m having the crew get started on that at 1300.”

“Seems like things were always falling apart on Deep Space Nine. All the conflicting technology made it so there were some days that our chief engineer barely had time to grab a raktijino.” Julian said.

B’Elanna looked at him as if she had just registered his presence.

“Although, I think the chief likes it. He’s not really the type to sit idle...” Julian rambled, in an attempt to cut the tension. 

Harry came to the rescue. “The challenge out here is figuring out how to get parts when there’s no Federation. We’ve had to cut deals with some Quark-like individuals from time to time.”

“I can imagine.” Julian said.

B’Elanna seemed to relax ever so slightly. “It does keep things interesting. We’re certainly never bored.”

“I wish I could say the same for sickbay. Most of the time it’s just me and the Doctor.” Julian said. “I mean, I suppose it’s good that people aren’t getting sick and injured constantly, but it’s certainly different from what I’m used to.”

“I’m just glad they stopped dragging me in there.” Tom said.

“Are you saying you don’t enjoy the Doctor’s company?” B’Elanna shot back, a slight smile spreading across her face.

“Me? Why would I ever suggest that?” Tom said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Harry gave Julian a look as if to say, ‘here we go again.’

From where Julian was sitting, Tom and B’Elanna seemed like a rather odd couple. Tom was always so relaxed whereas B’Elanna never seemed to be able to sit still for long. Julian supposed that perhaps it was a case of opposites attracting.

After a few minutes of back-and-forth, B’Elanna stood up.

“I’d better get going.” she said to the group, picking up her empty tray. She gave Julian a pointed look. “Tell your Cardassian boyfriend he’d better behave tomorrow.” She said and walked away before Julian could even think of a response. 

Elim had told him this morning that the Captain was sending him to work in engineering tomorrow.

Harry glanced between Julian and a retreating B’Elanna. “Boyfriend? Is that what Garak is?”

Julian could feel his face heating up. “No, well, not exactly. I’m not really sure...”

Tom raised an eyebrow. “You’re not sure?”

“It’s complicated...” Julian said, knowing that it was in no way an answer but hoping it would be enough to change the subject.

Tom refused to let the matter drop. “Good complicated? Or bad complicated?”

“Good... I think.”

Tom glanced at Harry and then back at Julian. “You think?”

Julian rubbed his hands over his face in defeat. “We’re... involved.” He admitted. “Although the specifics haven’t really been worked out.”

Harry looked confused. “Wait, how long have you been together?”

“Technically? A week.” Julian said with a shrug.

“A week! But when you’ve had joint quarters since—“

“I know.” Julian cut him off. “As I said, it’s complicated.”

“Seems like it.” Tom said

“Can we change the subject? Please?” Julian begged.

“Are you kidding? This is the best ship gossip I’ve heard in a while.” Harry said.

Julian groaned.

“A human and a Cardassian, how does that even work?” Tom wondered out loud.

“We’ve had years to hash out our cultural differences.”

“So... you’ve known each other for years but you’ve only been official for a week?” Harry asked for clarification.

“That about sums it up.” Julian confirmed. “And official makes it sound like we’re going to have some sort of announcement. E—Garak is very private and would probably like to keep this low-key.”

“You share quarters.” Harry pointed out.

“Yes, well, I won’t tell if you don’t.” Julian deadpanned and Harry laughed.

“It’s almost time for us to be back on the bridge.” Tom said, standing up. 

“See you on the holodeck this afternoon?” Harry asked as he too rose from his seat.

Despite everything, Julian grinned. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos!


	14. The New Beginning

Garak had been in a foul mood for most of the day. 

He was perfectly happy to work in astrometrics but the Captain had insisted he spend tomorrow in engineering. It made very little sense why she would assign him to work somewhere where he would surely only serve as a distraction.

He had gone to the Captain’s quarters during lunch but his pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Now he was returning to astrometrics, having accomplished nothing.

Garak boarded the turbolift and ordered it to his desired destination. It stopped to let on another passenger, none other than Julian Bashir.

“Elim!” His eyes seemed to light up. “I thought you were down in astrometrics.”

“I was.” Garak confirmed. “However I had an urgent matter to discuss with the Captain.”

“Deck five.” Julian said to the computer and the lift began to move again. “Let me guess, it was about tomorrow.”

“How perceptive.”

“It’s only one shift, Elim. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t work out. I just had lunch with B’Elanna, she’s not that bad.”

“You had lunch with her?” Garak was somewhat offended that she had been his replacement.

“It wasn’t just her, Tom and Harry were there too, but that’s not the point.”

“When the Captain informed my of my change in work details she suggested that I might wear a Starfleet uniform while on duty, can you imagine?”

Julian smiled at that. “Oh I don’t know, you might look good.”

“Quite frankly, I would rather die.”

Julian laughed. “Don’t be such a drama queen.” He was quiet for a moment. “I missed you.”

Garak raised an eyebrow ridge. “Julian, we saw one another this morning.”

“I know.” The human said, leaning over to give Garak a kiss on the cheek. “I still missed you.”

Garak looked into those deep brown eyes. Julian Bashir was truly one of the great wonders of the universe. 

“I suppose I can appreciate the sentiment.” Garak said softly, using one of his hands to cup Julian’s jaw, bringing their lips together.

Julian eagerly fell into the kiss, his warm lips sending a tingling sensation down Garak’s spine.

They were so preoccupied that neither of them registered the doors of the turbolift opening.

“Mr. Garak, Dr. Bashir.” Came a voice.

Garak let go of Julian as if he had been burned and spun around to face the speaker. Lieutenant Commander Tuvok stood just outside the turbolift.

“It is considered inappropriate to engage in such activities in public areas of the ship. I ask that you refrain from doing so in the future.” The Vulcan said, calmly stepping into the turbolift.

For a beat, the trio just stared at one another. Julian’s eyes were wide and his skin had paled. Garak had replaced his usual mask quickly after the initial shock and Tuvok looked entirely unfazed. 

“Yes sir.” Julian finally managed to say. He grabbed Garak by the wrist and pulled him out of the lift, putting an end to the awkward encounter.

The turbolift doors shut and Tuvok disappeared from view. Julian stopped pulling them down the corridor and turned to look at a Garak. A second later the human burst out laughing.

It had certainly been an amusing turn of events. Garak couldn’t help but smile.

\---

Early the following day, Garak walked through the doors of main engineering. Lieutenant Torres was already waiting for him, arms crossed over her chest.

Julian had been particularly affectionate this morning and last evening, insisting they shower together and using mealtimes as an excuse to ‘play footsie’ as the human called it. Garak had been grateful for the attempts to distract him, but the dread had remained.

Torres handed him a PADD. “We need to run some system diagnostics.” She said and jerked her head towards an empty console. “See what you can do.”

Garak noted that none of the primary systems were on the list he had been given. This was clearly a test. Garak nodded wordlessly and took up his post at the open console.

As he began his task, Garak could sense the crew’s eyes on him. Seven of Nine, Neelix, and most of the bridge crew were used to his presence by now but engineering was a different matter. Engineers, he had found, were quite often the reclusive sort, content to spend their time with machines rather than other humanoids.

Garak did his best to avoid the distraction of their gazes as he did what was required of him.

When he finished, he glanced around for Lieutenant Torres before he spotted her to the right of the warp core. He walked over and handed her the PADD.

Torres raised her eyebrows. “Finished already?” Her fingers danced across the PADD, writing out a new list of tasks before handing it back to Garak. “Try this.”

For the next few hours they fell into a rhythm, Torres providing Garak with a job, him completing it and then returning to her for the next one. Each task was slightly riskier than the last, getting progressively more complicated. She was gauging his skill, attempting to discover his strengths and weaknesses. 

Yet there seemed to be no malice behind her plan. No trick questions that would cause him to blunder. She could’ve chosen to humiliate him, engineering was her domain, but she didn’t.

Eventually, Garak was forced to concede that he had no idea how to do his most recent assignment.

When he admitted this to Torres she just nodded. “That’s fine, I’ll have Ensign Vorik work on it.” She took his PADD and changed the job to something more suited to his abilities before handing it back.

“Why?” Garak asked before she had the chance to walk away.

She blinked. “Why what?”

“Why have you suddenly decided to... tolerate me?”

Torres folded her arms over her chest and shrugged. “I still don’t like you, if that’s what you’re asking. I think you’re a liar, you’re self-righteous, and you have an annoying habit of talking a lot without actually saying much of anything, but...” She paused. “I don’t like plenty of people. I didn’t like most of this crew, at first, but at the end of the day I’m chief engineer of this ship and I do my best not to let my personal feelings get in the way of my job. If I’m not running smoothly, neither is this ship.”

Garak considered his next words carefully. “A remarkably... efficient way of looking at it.”

“Great. You’re beginning to sound like Seven of Nine.”

“In truth, I was thinking it was rather Cardassian of you but opted for a more neutral descriptor.”

“Thanks.” Torres said in a way that indicated she was in no way thankful.

They stared at one another. Garak received no small amount of satisfaction when Torres was the first to look away.

“Anyway,” she began, rather quietly. “I’m going to give a favorable report on your work to the Captain today.”

Garak smiled. “Perhaps you shouldn’t. We don’t want her thinking too highly of me.”

At that, Torres returned the smile. “Now that’s something we can both agree on.” She said and walked off to resume her work.

As Garak watched her go he was struck with an odd mixture of feelings.

Torres had never verbally agreed to let bygones be bygones, but Garak could read between the lines of her behavior. She had forgiven him, or was at least willing to walk down that path.

Garak was left to marvel once again at the human (or in this case, half-human) capacity for forgiveness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> B’Elanna is a very interesting character to me because I think she spends a lot of the series being told off for being “too angry” when she’s really... not? And when she is angry she usually has every right to be. I’m tired of male characters being allowed to be angry while the women have their anger treated as a character flaw. B’Elanna is smart and reasonable, so even though her and Garak got off on the wrong foot she’s has enough sense and professionalism to not be petty about it.
> 
> Thank you for leaving comments and kudos!


	15. The Letters

The _U.S.S Voyager_ was far from any federation ships or planets but thanks to an interdimensional deep space array system and some very smart people back at Starfleet headquarters, they could at least send the occasional letter home.

After being onboard for nearly a month, it was the first time that Julian would have the chance to send a letter. He was practically vibrating with anticipation.

There was a good chance everyone one Deep Space Nine assumed he was dead. He knew there had probably been a few weeks of searching but by now Starfleet had probably called off any rescue attempts. They were still at war, as far as Julian knew, and it would have been foolish to waste resources on a fruitless search. Jadzia, Miles, and some of the others would surely have been reluctant to stop but they were Starfleet officers, if they were ordered to move on, they would.

Julian’s heart ached at the thought of his friends mourning his death. Did Miles still go to the holosuites? Or had the happy memories of their adventures shared together turned sour?

Did Jadzia still sit at their usual table at Quark’s or had she found a new one? 

Had Sisko found a new CMO? Or was the post still vacant?

Julian supposed that he wouldn’t need to agonize over such questions after today. He was very much alive, and soon enough Deep Space Nine would know it.

He and Elim were sitting on either end of the couch in their quarters, legs stretched out and tangled together in the middle. Julian was drafting the first of his letters.

_Dear Miles,_

_It’s your good friend Dr. Julian Bashir. I’ll start by stating the obvious. I’m alive. You might be thinking this letter is fake and to prove it’s really me I’m going to tell you something that only the two of us would know. Do you remember the time we were all suited up and ready to run the Alamo program and Quark gave us Morn’s Risa program by mistake? Well, actually, now that I think about it Quark knows about that, and probably Morn. Anyway, It’s really me, Julian._

_Garak and I (although I’m calling him Elim these days, more on that later) got pulled into the Delta Quadrant thanks to some sort of anomaly and now we’re on board the U.S.S. Voyager, you know, that ship that’s been stranded out here all these years? I suppose it’s rather lucky that the only Federation starship for light-years managed to find us. The ship has a fine crew but I still miss you and everyone back home everyday._

_In other news, Elim and I are... together. Don’t ask me to explain what I mean by “together” it gives me a headache. I know you and Elim have your differences (I can just imagine you rolling your eyes at that) but I think you know how happy he’s always made me. I was so scared when we first got to the Delta Quadrant, to be frank I still am scared, terrified even, but Elim keeps me grounded. We both help each other in that way, I think. I try to hope but I don’t know if we’ll ever make it home. In some ways, Elim is all I have left._

_I didn’t intent for this letter to get so dreary. I have made some friends here, specifically Lieutenant Tom Paris and Ensign Harry Kim. Tom writes his own holonovels and we play through them on the holodeck. Elim has found a friend in an ex-borg drone named Seven of Nine. Like us, she’s a stray that Captain Janeway managed to collect. Voyager is a lot smaller than Deep Space Nine so there isn’t always much to do, but we manage._

_I have a favor to ask of you, and it’s going to sound silly, but would you mind taking Kukulaka out of my quarters and keeping him in yours? I know he’s just a teddy bear, but I can’t shake this feeling that he’s going to get lonely without me. I think he’d like staying with you guys for a while._

_I hope to see you again, but in the meantime give my best to the family,_

_Julian_

Julian felt Elim absentmindedly brush his foot up and down one of his calves. The human smiled, looking up from his PADD. “Who are you writing to?” He asked.

Elim glanced up from his own PADD. “Writing to? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“Didn’t you hear the Captain announce that crewmates should have letters home prepared for the transmission at 1900 tonight?”

“I did.”

“So who are you writing to?”

“Julian, my dear, surely it did not escape your notice that I don’t have any family to speak of that would welcome any correspondence. I am still technically in exile.”

Julian frowned. “What about your friends aboard the station?”

“They will receive news of my survival through your letters I’m sure.”

“That’s not the same and you know it.”

Elim studied him for a moment. “You clearly have a recipient in mind.”

“I think Keiko would be delighted to hear from you.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Elim conceded and Julian smiled.

He sat for a moment, considering how to begin his second letter.

_Dear Jadzia,_

_It’s Julian. I’m alive but I’m stuck in the Delta Quadrant. I don’t know if this will come as a surprise to you, or if in 300 years you’ve managed to run out of things to be surprised by. I’d like to believe that out of everyone, you would be the one to never give up hope on me. Now you have the pleasure of telling everyone “I told you so.”_

_I’ll get straight to the gossip. Elim (Garak) and I are an item. You probably saw that coming a mile away, now that I think about it. I really love him, Jadzia. I know you’ve heard me talk about people I love before but this is different. It just feels right, I don’t even really have to try at it. I think Elim has always understood me in a way that no one else did. You and I both know that sometimes I come on too strong but that never scared him away. Right now he’s giving me a funny look from across the couch, I think he can tell I’m writing about him._

_The Delta Quadrant is certainly a strange place. Maybe it isn’t much stranger than the Gamma Quadrant, but I’m just not as used to the particular breed of strangeness, or the loneliness. Voyager has a good crew, they’re all more than capable of dealing with whatever is thrown their way. I think you would like Captain Janeway, sometimes she reminds me of you. Maybe it’s the stubbornness... All this is to say, I miss you. The only person I can turn to for advice is Elim and I know I don’t need to tell you what a bad idea that is. He got in a fistfight with the chief engineer when we’d been on board less then three days._

_I try not to give up hope seeing home again but some days it’s difficult. Voyager has already been in this part of space for years without any success and I worry that we be stuck out here forever. I can tell that Elim has already resigned himself to this fate but he’s kept quiet about it, probably for my sake. I try to look on the bright side, since I know that’s what you would tell me to do._

_In the spirit of optimism, save me a spot at Quark’s until I return, and say hello to the Captain for me._

_Julian_

Julian let out a yawn. All this reminiscing had drained him. He set down his PADD and moved into a position more suited to napping. 

Elim watched him. “Are you alright, my dear?”

“Yes, just going to rest for a bit. Wake me in an hour.” Julian said, closing his eyes.

“Why not issue that command to the computer?”

Julian opened his eyes and smiled. “You’re a far more pleasant wake-up call.”

“Am I?” Elim raised an eyebrow ridge. “Well then, rest easy my dear and I will wake you at the appointed time.” 

\--- 

_Dear Mrs. O’Brien_

_Greetings from the Delta Quadrant, it is my pleasure to inform you that Dr. Bashir and myself are alive and well. We had the good fortune to be picked up by the famously stranded U.S.S. Voyager and have spent the last few weeks among her crew._

_Thanks to a remarkable feat of technology, we have been given the opportunity to send letters to the Alpha Quadrant, if we so desire. I am writing first and foremost to thank you, as you’ve no doubt been handling the upkeep of my plants in my absence, a task which I humbly request you continue, for the time being._

_Julian has made himself indispensible in sickbay. Before we arrived, Voyager had only an EMH to treat her patients. It’s truly a wonder they survived this long. My own particular skillset is less suited for a starship but I do my best to provided assistance when needed. Captain Janeway is a capable leader but I do not envy her the difficult and vulnerable position she has been placed in._

_I know you would be delighted at the unique botanical wonders this part of the galaxy has to offer. Perhaps one day there will be quick and reliable transportation so that you may visit and study in detail._

_Julian is asleep as I write, but were he awake I have no doubt that he would ask me to send his regards. May you and your family continue to find success and prosperity._

_Your friend,_

_Mr. Garak_

There was no need to mention what had transpired between himself and Julian. Mrs. O’Brien was a smart woman, she would notice his use of the doctor’s first name and deduce the rest. 

Garak set down his PADD and looked fondly over at his sleeping human companion. After a moment’s hesitation, he quietly grabbed Julian’s PADD and began to read what the doctor had written.

Old habits died hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I will include Keiko & Garak friendship even when they’re in different quadrants! 
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated.


	16. The Proposal

Another week had come and gone. _Voyager_ continued to face her share of challenges but her dedicated crew ensured that she was still continuing en route to the Alpha Quadrant.

Julian was just leaving sickbay. When he arrived back at his own quarters Elim was already there with dinner prepared. Judging by the smell, it seemed they were having cacio e pepe.

Elim greeted him by pressing their palms together and Julian leaned forward to kiss his chufa.

“You’re here early.” Julian remarked. “I thought you were working on a project with Seven.”

“I was.” Elim said as he lead the human towards the dinner table. “However I thought you might be interested in some food and conversation after a long day.”

Julian smiled. “You know me all too well it seems.” He took his seat at the table, taking in what had been prepared. “In the mood for Italian tonight, I take it?” He said, eyeing the bottle of wine.

“According to my research it is considered an elegant fare.”

“Sometimes.” Julian agreed. “It depends on the context.

Elim uncorked the bottle of wine and began to pour two glasses. “Oh?”

“You could dim the lights a little, if you were going for romance.” Julian smiled, accepting the glass that Elim held out to him.

“Duly noted. Computer, dim lights by thirty percent.”

“Much better.” Julian said before raising his glass in a toast

Elim returned the gesture and they began their meal in comfortable silence.

In the back of his mind, Julian wondered what exactly had prompted such a display. Was today some sort of Cardassian holiday that he didn’t know about? Had they reached some sort or relationship milestone? Was it Elim’s birthday? Julian had yet to figure out when exactly that was. 

Whatever was going on, he was certain Elim would tell him in due time. For the Cardassian, the process was often just as important as the final result. So Julian let him take his time.

“Julian...” Elim began and then stopped as if he wasn’t sure what to say next.

Julian frowned. It was quite unusual for him to be at a loss for words. “Yes?” Julian prompted.

“I have a proposal for you.” Elim said, seemingly regaining his footing.

“A Proposal?”

“Yes, you see, I believe there may be some cultural differences in this particular scenario.”

Julian wasn’t quite sure what Elim was getting at.

“On Cardassia, a courtship lasts only as long as is necessary to determine the compatibility of one’s partner. Once neither party has any reservations about the arrangement then the enjoinment is performed. As you can imagine, this leads to swift courtships. Either you are suited for one another and you enjoin or you are not and the courtship is broken. I know you have picked up on this from the literature you’ve sampled but I wanted to restate so that there are no misunderstandings. Now, human courtship, as I understand it, it much more varied. From what I gather there seems to be four different stages, dating, seriously dating, engaged, and married, and even then the partnership can end in failure. The purpose and length of each stage I have yet to discover although is seems like the whole process can often take years—“

Throughout the course of this monologue, the reality of the situation hit Julian like a ton of bricks. “Hold on, Elim, are you... are you asking me to marry you?”

Elim blinked. “That was my intention, yes. I apologize if I wasn’t clear. I had to get some advice from your human friends and they assured me that posing the question over a nice dinner was a tried and true method.”

“The dinner isn’t the issue.” Julian’s heart was hammering so hard he feared Elim might hear it from across the table. “I know you just explained Cardassian courtships can be very quick but it’s only been what, five weeks?”

“No, Julian. In all the ways that matter it’s been years.”

Julian opened his mouth to protest and then shut it. Elim had a point. “But how do you know we’re really compatible in that way?”

“Do you have any doubts regarding my ability to provide for you? Do you have any misgivings about my past? Have I neglected to make amends for any slight? Do you doubt that I would do everything in my power to protect you from harm? Have I given you reason to question the love I have for you?”

Elim was gazing at him so intently that Julian thought he might melt. He considered his questions for a moment before responding with a breathy, “no.”

The Cardassian softened slightly. “And I have no reservations about you, my dear. Therefore, I ask, in the straightforward way humans seem to prefer, will you marry me?”

Julian felt a knot of panic twisting around his stomach. He wanted to say yes, but he couldn’t find the air to get the words out so he said nothing.

“Julian?” Elim asked, a note of concern creeping into his voice.

Julian found words, but not the ones he was looking for. “Do I have to answer you right away.”

“I suppose not...”

“I won’t be long, I promise.” Julian said, getting up from the table and leaving their quarters. Where he was going, he had no idea. Part of his felt guilty, running off on Elim like this, but he had to take a moment to breathe, to think.

His thoughts were racing, his feet on autopilot. As he rounded a corner he nearly collided with someone.

“Commander.” Julian said after he registered who it was. “I’m so sorry, I’ll pay better attention to where I’m going.”

“It’s all right, it happens. ” Chakotay assured him and then he seemed to really notice Julian. “Doctor, are you all right?”

“I—“ Julian started. “I don’t know.”

“Walk with me.” Chakotay said, clasping his hands behind his back and continuing on in the direction he had been going.

After a moment of hesitation, Julian followed him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” The Commander asked.

What was there even to talk about? Julian knew what he wanted, he was just... afraid.

“Have you ever been in love?” He opted for what he hoped was a relatively benign question.

Chakotay raised his eyebrows and smiled. “I have.”

“Married?”

“No.”

Julian sighed. “Garak asked me to marry him.”

“And what did you say?”

“Nothing, I sort of ran out on him.” Julian winced.

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know, really. I guess I got scared.” There was something about Chakotay that made him easy to talk to, even though he was Julian’s superior.

“Are you scared of him?”

“No.” Julian shook his head. “It’s just that, I’ve been in relationships before and they never seen to work out. I always mess something up and I don’t want that to happen with Garak and I. Cardassians take marriage very seriously, divorce is so rare it’s basically nonexistent. I’m terrified that I’ll eventually do something unforgivable and he’ll grow to resent me.”

“How long have you and Mr. Garak been together?”

“That depends on when you start counting.” Julian said. “But he is my oldest friend. He was one of the first people to approach me when I arrived on Deep Space Nine.”

“Sounds like he’s put up with you for a while. I don’t think he’s going to stop anytime soon.”

“But how can you be sure?”

Chakotay stopped walking. “You can’t. Nothing in this universe is set in stone. We’ve both seen enough of it to understand that.”

The Commander was right, Julian realized. He was working himself up over ‘what ifs’ when he should be focusing on the reality, which was that he loved Elim and Elim loved him. “That makes me feel better, I think.”

Chakotay smiled. “Glad I could help.”

Julian looked at him. “What ever happened with you and the person you love?” He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Ah, well, I hope it works it works out for you.” Julian said, he wondered who could have captured the Commander’s attention.

“As do I.” Chakotay said. “And I hope it’s not to early for me to give you my congratulations.”

Julian smiled. “No, your timing is perfect. If you’ll excuse me, Commander, I have an important matter to discuss with Mr. Garak.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really loved this scene with Chaokotay, it's definitely one of my own personal favorite moments.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. <3


End file.
